


Truth or Dare: Coming Out Addition

by Annzy_Bananzy



Series: Everyone Has Issues in South Park [1]
Category: South Park
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comedy, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Swearing, mentioning of underaged sexual acts but nothing explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22151713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annzy_Bananzy/pseuds/Annzy_Bananzy
Summary: Tweek does NOT want to attend the annual sleepover that his boyfriend and eight other boys have every winter, because he does NOT want to play Truth or Dare. He knows he’ll be dared to do so many embarrassing things!! But wait, wait, wait… the attention ISN’T on him? It’s on some of the other boys?? No way - there’s other gay couples in the school??
Relationships: Craig Tucker/Tweek Tweak, Kenny McCormick/Leopold "Butters" Stotch, Kyle Broflovski/Stan Marsh
Series: Everyone Has Issues in South Park [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1840414
Comments: 48
Kudos: 332





	1. Information Time

**Author's Note:**

> You know that feeling when you think you're gonna write something that should only be like, three chapters max, and then you end up writing six chapters instead? That's the story of this story!  
> Also, I began writing this in December 2017, have been idly working on it since then, and have just now have gotten around to finishing it. So I hope you all enjoy XD  
> 

To say Tweek was nervous was an understatement. He’d chewed all of his fingernails down to the bed, pulled out three buttons on his shirt, and even ripped out some of his hair today, and  _ still _ he couldn’t get rid of the shaky, quaking sensation in his stomach as he thought about tonight. Tonight, when he was attending a sleepover with nine other boys from school, including his boyfriend, Craig. It was a big sleepover they had tried to plan every year since sixth grade, sometime around Christmas. They were in eighth grade now, and Tweek had managed to get out of it for the past two years - the first year with a fake illness and last year with a real one. Don’t get him wrong, he’d love to have a sleepover with everyone, but he knew what would happen if they did. 

He knew they’d play Truth or Dare. 

And he knew that  _ everyone  _ would dare him and Craig to do embarrassing couple things! Or ask them embarrassing questions about their relationship!! And he  _ really didn’t wanna be forced into that!!! _

The only reason he was going this year was because of Clyde. He had said he didn’t care if Tweek was sick this year and that he’d just shove a face mask over his mouth and drag Tweek to Token’s house himself if he had to. Plus, Craig had looked so  _ sad _ when he asked Tweek to try and be healthy enough to come, and there was no way Tweek wanted to see that look on his face again. 

Currently he was finishing packing up for the night. Craig was laying on his bed with Stripe while Tweek was trying to fold his outfit for tomorrow, but shaking too much to do it right. “Ah!” he screamed in frustration and threw it on the ground. 

“Tweek.” His bed creaked as Craig got off of it and walked towards him, Stripe resting on top of his hat. “I’ll fold, okay? Go grab your bathroom bag.” 

“Right!!” Tweek shoved his clothes at Craig before walking stiffly to his bathroom. He didn’t want to do this! He didn’t want to sleepover!! He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of everyone just for their amusement!!! Yet  _ here he was,  _ preparing for a sleepover  _ he didn’t even want! _ He didn’t understand why Craig wanted to do it either! Surely he had already been asked embarrassing questions at the last two sleepovers! Why would he want to be asked more?! He groaned to himself as he opened up his bathroom mirror and grabbed his little travel bag of toiletries. He always kept a little bag filled with a travel toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, and deodorant. You never know when you’ll need to leave in a hurry. 

When he came back to his room, Craig had everything else folded and packed up neatly in his little duffel bag, and Stripe was back in his cage. “Got it, babe?” he asked, his own sleepover bag slung over his shoulder. His face was as neutral as ever, except for the excited little rise in his eyebrows. It made Tweek relax a little. If Craig was saying it’d be a fun night, he’d try and believe him. 

“Yeah, I got it.” He hurried over and shoved it in his bag before zipping it and standing up. “Let’s go.” 

“Sure you got everything?” Craig asked, holding out his finger to start counting off. “Pajamas, change of clothes, underwear, White Elephant gift -” 

“I got it, Craig!” Tweek huffed, bumping their hips together. Well, bumping his hip against the top of Craig’s thigh, but it was the same thing. “Let’s just go to this stupid thing already.” 

“I don’t want you leaving the sleepover to pick up something you forgot,” Craig told him simply, the left corner of his mouth dropping every so slightly into a frown. 

“I didn’t forget anything!” Tweek promised, looking away. “Can we just go?!” 

Tweek could feel his blood pressure rising the longer Craig just  _ stared _ at him. 

_ “Stop staring! _ ” 

“Sorry.” Craig sighed, shoving his free hand in his pocket. “It’s just… I know you didn’t want to come to the sleepover for some reason.” 

“What?” Tweek snapped his head over to him, eyes wide in alarm. “Why would you think that? I was just sick the last two years -!” 

“Yeah, what a coincidence.” Craig rolled his eyes. “Tweek, just tell me why you don’t wanna come, okay? I wanna know.” 

Tweek bit at his lip, looking down at the floor. His first reaction was to argue that he  _ did _ want to go, but what was the point? Craig would just get mad at him if he kept lying. “All right,  _ fine! _ ” Tweek shut his eyes as he rattled off, “I just don’t wanna be asked stupid couple questions, all right?! I don’t wanna be asked how much we kiss or if we’ve talked about sex!! Or, or be dared to kiss you, or sit in your lap, or whatever they dare couples to do during truth or dare!!” 

When Tweek opened his eyes again, he was surprised to see a slight pink tinge in Craig’s cheeks, his eyes widened about two millimeters all around. “... Oh.” It was obvious he hadn’t even thought about that. “Fuck, you have a point.” 

“Of course I do!” Tweek hissed. He groaned and covered his face. “God, I don’t want to do this!!” 

“It’ll be okay, Tweek,” Craig promised, stepping over to place a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think the attention will be on us tonight.” 

“Why  _ wouldn’t _ it be on us?!” Tweek yelled, throwing his hands back to his sides. “ _ We’re the only gay couple in the school! And Clyde is fucking obsessed with us, I swear!! _ ” 

“... Okay, we might have all of Clyde’s attention,” Craig admitted, “but I promise that’ll be it.” 

“How can you be so sure!!?” 

“Just trust me,” Craig spoke cryptically as he squeezed Tweek’s shoulder. “You’ll see what I mean when we get there.” 

“You better be right, Craig,” Tweek mumbled, his left eye twitching. 

Craig did his little frown again and kissed his forehead, dropping his bag to the floor. “Close your eyes.” 

Tweek already knew what was coming and sighed. “Craig, I’m fine -” 

“Please, honey?” 

“Nnngh!” Tweek made a sound of complaint, but complied anyway and just closed his eyes, his left lid still twitching. He tried to keep his breathing even as he felt Craig dig his fingers into his hair, cupping the back of his head, yet he still jumped when he felt it: the slightest pressure of Craig’s thumbs against his eyelids, trying to relax his twitching with touch. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as Craig gently rubbed his thumbs from side to side, as if trying to smooth out a bed comforter. He was never quite sure how to feel about this. The touch  _ did _ calm him down, Craig wouldn’t be doing this if it hadn’t proved effective before, but Tweek was still just so used to letting his twitches pass, or trying to calm them himself, that it felt strange to let someone else calm them. 

After only a few moments, Tweek’s eye twitch was gone, and Craig finished his little relaxation technique with a kiss to both of his eyelids. That was Tweek’s favorite part, ever since he had read that a kiss on the eyelid meant “deep affection.” His whole face felt tingly after getting one. 

“That was completely unnecessary,” Tweek mumbled, opening his eyes slowly as if he expected those lips to come in for another kiss. He felt heat on the back of his neck as he took in the small grin on Craig’s face. 

“Maybe I just wanted to touch you, babe.” 

Tweek knew he was blushing now as he pushed at Craig’s chest. “Ugh! Let’s just go already!! You know you can’t do stuff like that at the sleepover, right?!” 

“I’ll behave,” Craig told him, chuckling as he slipped his hand in Tweek’s and picked up his bag again with the other. “Don’t stress about tonight, honey - you get three passes during Truth or Dare if you really don’t wanna do something.” 

“Really?” Tweek brightened, already feeling better at the prospect of being able to skip something. “Sweet!” 

“Yeah, sweet.” Craig nodded in agreement, and without another word they were walking off. 

Tweek was always fascinated with how they walked together. Since Craig was almost a foot taller than him, really they shouldn’t be able to walk hand in hand so easily. But, since Craig had long, slow strides, and he had small, fast ones, he was able to take two and a half steps for every one of Craig’s, so it worked out pretty well. It always filled him with pride when Craig said that he was the only short person he knew who could keep up with him. 

Pretty soon they had walked all the way to Token’s house, and Tweek’s nerves returned tenfold as Craig rang the doorbell. “Oh, god,” he muttered, causing Craig to squeeze his hand tighter. 

“It’ll be okay,” he whispered. “I promise.” 

“You better be right,” Tweek hissed just as Clyde answered the door, smiling ear to ear. 

“Well, if it isn’t the lovebirds! So nice of you to join us, Craig,  _ Tweek _ .” 

Tweek shivered and looked away from Clyde’s accusing gaze, stammering nervously. “Yeah! I f-felt good enough this year!” 

“Fuck off,” Craig told his best friend, flipping him the bird. “Leave Tweek alone.” 

Clyde whined and latched onto Craig’s arm, not caring if his middle finger was pressing hard against his face. Since he was only six inches shorter than Craig, he was able to stare into those cold blue eyes much easier. “No way! I won’t have my best friend all to myself tonight - of course I’m sad!” 

Craig rolled his eyes and pulled his arm back just so he could wrap it around his shoulders and give Clyde a one-armed hug. “You were the one who threatened to drag him here.” 

Clyde latched onto him immediately, making Tweek smile. It was always funny to him how Craig had an emotional best friend  _ and _ boyfriend while he himself was so emotionally bland. 

“Because!” Clyde was exasperated. “I knew you’d just mope if Tweek ditched us for a third year in a row!” 

Tweek exchanged a glance with Craig, who was a little embarrassed. “I wouldn’t  _ mope _ -”

“Clyde!” Token’s voice was heard from somewhere in the house. “Who’s at the door?” 

“TWEEK AND CRAIG!” Clyde yelled back, making no move to stop hugging Craig. 

Token waited a good five seconds before calling again. “Aaaaaand are you letting them  _ in? _ ” 

“In a minute!!” Clyde pretended to huff like one of the goth kids. “God, mom!” 

“Don’t take that tone of voice with me, son!” 

Tweek started laughing and put a hand up to cover his face. Their insistence to assign a “family roll” to everyone in their friend group was so ridiculous, but kind of endearing. “Oh my god. Who’s the dad, again?” 

“Jimmy, obviously,” Clyde replied as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. He grinned and squeezed Craig as tight as he could. “And Craig’s my older brother!” 

Craig smiled softly and ruffled Clyde’s hair. “The best older brother you’ve ever had.” 

“Hell yeah!” 

“Do I have a role?” Tweek was curious. 

“Other than being Craig’s husband?” 

“Clyde.” Craig shoved his friend’s head away before pulling Tweek into the house, the latter almost tripping from the sudden movement. “Shut up. Tweek can be...” Craig had to think for a moment. When he couldn’t come up with anything he decided to flirt instead. “Tweek can be the best thing that ever happened to me.” 

Tweek blushed and looked away, squeezing Craig’s hand to let him know he appreciated the sentiment. 

Clyde, on the other hand, just snorted. “Yeah, so  _ your husband. _ ” He slammed the front door shut as if to enunciate his point. 

“Do you  _ see _ any rings?” Craig pointed out logically, holding out his left hand for Clyde to see. 

“We’re way too young for that!!” Tweek agreed, scrunching his face up as he thought about it. God, that was way too much commitment for an eighth grader! 

Clyde sighed and came up between them, wrapping his arms around both sets of their shoulders. It was a little awkward for him because of the height difference between Tweek and Craig, and because the couple’s hands were still linked together, but he made it work. “Oh, you two. Just accept the future already!” 

“That’s not ominous at all,” Craig snorted, knocking his and Tweek’s hand into Clyde’s stomach so he’d back off a little. “Come on, Tweek - let’s find dear old mom and dad.” 

“They’re in the Entertainment room!” Clyde exclaimed excitedly, running off ahead of them. “And I have dibs on the left recliner!” 

“Literally only you care about that.” 

“Whatever, I still have dibs!” 

Craig exhaled sharply through his nostrils in place of a laugh, which is how he usually laughed anyway. He glanced at Tweek, squeezing his hand to get his attention. “You okay?” 

Tweek nodded. He liked how thoughtful Craig was to him. He knew Tweek didn’t want to be here, so he knew that this social situation would drain him more quickly than others, so he was checking up on him. It was nice. Just another reason he was glad they were together for real now. “Yeah, I’m okay.” Craig started taking off his shoes, so Tweek followed suit. “Ask me again when Stan’s group gets here.” 

Craig did his short, silent laugh again, this time accompanied with a grin. He enjoyed it when Tweek got snarky. “Come on, you like those guys.” 

“I know!” Tweek was distracted, adjusting his duffel bag over his shoulder as they walked. “But they still always get into major trouble! Just last week they brought live grenades to school - who  _ does _ that!? Where did they even get them from!!” 

“I think Stan’s uncle.” 

“Why would he give grenades to children!?” 

“Because he’s an idiot?” 

“... Ugh !” Tweek pouted at him. “Always logical, huh?” 

“Just call me Mr. Spock.” 

Tweek snorted and bumped his hip against Craig’s leg. “I’ll call you Captain Dork instead.” 

“Nah, that’s you.” Craig argued, smiling just a little more. 

Tweek rolled his eyes, but he was also smiling as they made it to the Entertainment Room. And by “room,” think “theater with red carpeting.” One of the walls was completely covered with a giant television, minus the small shelf it was perched over that contained literally every game console on the planet. The opposite wall was a bookshelf full of DVDs and video games. The other two walls were a rich, red color with dim lights lining up the sides; one held a popcorn machine, soda fountain, and candy display case, while the other wall had a long, white, ornate counter that you could place whatever snacks you wanted on it. In the middle was a fancy, red-leather couch, two recliners, and a few bean bag chairs. 

Clyde, Token, Jimmy, and Timmy were invested in an intense game of Mario Kart at the moment, but each of them greeted them with distracted grunts when they arrived. Token was laying on his stomach on a purple bean bag, Clyde was in his favorite recliner, Jimmy perched himself on the middle of the couch, and Timmy had his chair, of course. 

“Where do you usually sit?” Tweek asked Craig, wondering how this room stayed so clean. He couldn’t imagine Token’s guests being very careful about not leaving stains.

“Here.” He pulled Tweek over to the other recliner, which was just small enough to ensure their sides would be comfortably pressed against each other. “We’ll fit.” 

Tweek resisted the urge to smile and fell back into it, Craig following suit soon enough. “Lift our feet up, long arms.” 

“Of course.” Craig snorted and pushed the button on the side of the chair so it would slowly bring their legs up. He started making a low, little “ooo” sound affect as it did, and Tweek had to cover his mouth as he started to laugh. 

“Knock it off !” He buried his face against Craig’s shoulder, still laughing a little. “God, you’re so weird.” 

“But you like it.” 

“Hey, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” Token called without looking away from the TV. “Your flirting is distracting.” 

“I told you they were more mushy in the evening. Augh!” Clyde threw the controller down when his kart fell off the track and he had to be picked up by the little cloud. 

“Timmy!” Timmy laughed and turned to give them a grin that made Tweek’s insides melt into his socks. 

“Aw, come on, guys,” Jimmy spoke up, “leave them al-l-lone. We should be ha-appy for them.” 

“I call next game,” Craig interrupted. His strategy was usually to act like all of his friends weren’t commenting on his love life when they all ganged up on him like this. Tweek smiled a little and snuggled into his side more, appreciating how level-headed Craig could be. “You know, when Clyde inevitably comes last.”

“Hey!” Clyde started to tear up as he glared at his best friend. “Why do you assume I’ll come in last!”

“Well, you are in last right now,” Token pointed out. “And it’s only the first lap.” 

“You’re pr-pretty bad at this, Clyde.”

“Timmy.”

“Fuck you guys.” Clyde tossed his controller to Craig preemptively. 

“Wise decision.” Craig nodded in approval before taking the controller and expertly making his way through the track. 

Tweek was fascinated with the way Craig had mastered the drifting maneuver. He was up to sixth place by the second lap. “How often do you play this??”

“Not that often.”

“Craig,” Token argued, “this was like the only thing we’d play when you came over, remember?”

“Then why isn’t Clyde any better at it?”

“Because you’d always knock me off the track you jerk!” Clyde screeched, getting up from his favorite chair to go by the popcorn machine instead. “When are the pizza rolls going to be ready, mom?”

“You’re welcome to go to the kitchen and find out.”

“But that’s so faaaar!” Clyde complained as he scooped up popcorn into a bowl. “Someone come with me.” 

“We’re in the middle of a game.” 

“Tweek’s not playing!” 

“What?” Tweek jolted when he was addressed, one of his eyes twitching at Clyde. He had been so absorbed with watching Craig race that he tuned out everything else.

“Come with me to check on the pizza rolls!”

“Oh!” Tweek started to slide out of his shared seat. “Sure, Clyde.” He was starting to feel hungry anyway. “What flavor?” 

“Cheesy Taco!” Clyde grinned and wrapped his arm around Tweek’s shoulder as they walked. “The superior flavor, obviously.” 

“I don’t know,” Craig argued, eyes still glued to the television. “I kinda like Macaroni and Cheese & Bacon.” 

“Get outta here with your trash taste, Craig.” 

“I like that flavor, too!” Tweek argued, nudging Clyde with his elbow as they walked. 

Clyde grinned and nudged Tweek back. “You’re just saying that because he’s your boyfriend.” 

“I am not!” Tweek huffed. “I have my own opinions!” 

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Clyde snickered and nudged him again. 

Tweek glared and “tazed” him - or, rather, poked his side with two fingers to make him flinch away and laugh. Most people were ticklish in that spot. He quickly blocked his own sides with his hands so Clyde couldn’t retaliate. 

“No fair!” Clyde pouted and tried in vain to move Tweek’s hands off of his sides. “Let me poke you back!” 

“This isn’t Facebook - don’t poke me.” 

“You started it!” Clyde puffed his cheeks out. He looked like a squirrel pouting with his cheeks full of nuts. 

Tweek started laughing and shook his head. “You look ridiculous, man.” 

“Whatever.” Clyde sighed and ran ahead since they were close to the kitchen. “What?!” Tweek heard him whine as he turned the corner. “There’s still five minuuuuutes!” He slumped his head down on the top of the stove. 

“Don’t do that!!” Tweek pulled him back with a nervous crack in his voice. “You could turn it on and burn your face!!” 

“Oh, geez.” Clyde paled and took a step back, staring at the oven as if it would burst into flames right then. He put his hands over his cheeks, whispering dramatically, “My pretty face doesn’t deserve that.” 

Tweek sighed in relief and let go of his shirt. “So, we’ll head back now?” 

“In a second.” Clyde grinned and looked both ways, making sure no one was spying on them. He leaned in, putting his hand up to shield his mouth from non-present prying eyes. “Has Craig ever told you about when he first fell in love with you?” 

“... What?” Tweek could feel heat pooling in his cheeks. His eye started twitching again in confusion and nervousness at the weird turn this pizza roll adventure had taken them. “What are you talking about?!” 

“He hasn’t, right?” Clyde grinned and dropped his hand. He still whispered, though. “You wanna find out?” 

Tweek took a step back. Clyde’s whispering voice made his ears feel like ants were crawling around them and biting the insides. “You’re being really weird!!” 

“It’s a great story. Surprising, anyway.” Clyde chuckled and crossed his arms. “When we play Truth or Dare, I was gonna make that one of his truths; ask him “when did you realize you loved Tweek?”” 

“Why?” Tweek swallowed, his mouth dry as he looked away. His stomach started flipping around like a gymnast. “I’m sure C-Craig would tell me if he thought it was important.” 

“Not if it’s embarrassing.” 

“Why would that be embarrassing?!” 

“You’ll find out,” Clyde grinned, “if you ask him the same question! He can only pass so many times, you know?” 

“Clyde!” Tweek frowned and started tugging at his hair lightly. He quickly let go and switched to grabbing his fingers instead; Craig had been trying to get him to stop grabbing his hair ever since he accidentally made his skull bleed that one time. “I don’t - ngh - wanna ask Craig something that will make him embarrassed! Gah! I’ll just, just ask him in private later!! Why do you even care about this?!” 

“Because he’ll probably never tell you!” Clyde pouted like a squirrel again. “I think the story’s cute but he thinks it’s lame. You’d think a sap like him would love it, too!!” 

“Whatever, man.” Tweek turned and started heading back to the Entertainment Room. He didn’t like what Clyde was conspiring. If Craig didn’t want to tell him when he first “fell in love” then fine! Whatever! They both knew how each other felt  _ now _ so who cares when it happened? Tweek supposed he was curious, but if Craig was embarrassed about it like Clyde was saying then he didn’t want to force him. Craig never forced him to do anything he didn’t want to do, he could at least return the favor. Especially when it involved a stupid game of Truth or Dare. 

Clyde raced ahead of him so he could crash into his favorite recliner, leaving Tweek to walk much slower into the room. As soon as he crawled into his own shared seat, Craig whispered, “Are you okay?” 

“Ah!” Tweek jumped. He should have expected the question; he knew he was twitching thanks to Clyde’s questions and instigating tone. “I’m f-fine!” 

Craig creased his eyebrows together and turned to Clyde. “Hey, take your controller back.” He tossed it over to him, whacking him on the shoulder with it. 

“Ow!” 

“Sorry. Just play.” He wrapped an arm around Tweek’s shoulders and pulled him closer, letting his blonde head rest on his shoulder. “What happened?” 

“N-nothing…” Tweek grasped for Craig’s hand while he chewed on his lip. “Clyde was just being really weird! He’s going to ask you some “embarrassing” question during Truth or Dare and wanted me in on it.” 

“What question?” Craig looked confused. “I’m never embarrassed.” 

“Nnngh…” Tweek squeezed Craig’s hand over and over, treating it like a stress ball. “He wanted both of us to ask about when… when you fell in love with me.” 

“...” 

“Craig?” 

“That little shit.” Craig looked away, but Tweek could still see the blush on his cheeks. 

Tweek felt his stomach churn unpleasantly. Why was this story so embarrassing for him? It was obvious they were in love, so why did he not want to talk about when it happened so vehemently? Tweek started to feel a nervous insecurity, his brain trying to say that Craig didn’t want to answer because he  _ wasn’t _ in love with Tweek. But that wouldn’t make any sense because Clyde had said he thinks the story is cute. Not falling in love isn’t cute! 

“Tweek?” Craig spoke up, turning his head back to look at him with a small frown. “If you wanna know, I’ll tell you. I just really don’t want to talk about it in front of everyone.”

“I get that!” Tweek insisted, squeezing Craig’s hand tighter. “You don’t have to tell me tonight. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” 

“It’s not that I’d be uncomfortable,” Craig insisted, his blush more pronounced as his eyes shifted away from Tweek’s. “It’s just… that would probably be the one thing that would make me embarrassed.” 

Tweek felt a painful lump in his stomach. “Why?!” 

“What do you mean, why?” Craig creased his eyebrows together. “Wouldn’t you be embarrassed to tell everyone about when you fell in love with me?” 

“No!” Tweek shook his head rapidly, keeping his eyes closed when he was done. “You can’t help when you fall in love with someone!” 

“When  _ did _ you fall in love, Tweek?” Token asked curiously, turning to look back at the two as he paused the game.

“Yeah!” Jimmy grinned. “I’ve never h-heard this story!” 

“Tim _ my _ ~” 

As everyone turned to stare at Tweek with their big, judging eyes, he had to admit that this was a little nerve wracking, but he wouldn’t call it embarrassing. “W-well, I guess… ngh…” He scratched at his neck, eyes cast down to the floor as he thought of how to say this. “It was about after a month of fake dating - you know, after that whole yaoi thing with the break-up and make-up?” 

Clyde started snickering until Craig gave him an especially scathing look. 

“We were g-going for a walk by the park,” Tweek continued, looking between Clyde and Craig nervously. Why were they looking at each other like that?! “A leaf fell in my hair and I started f-freaking out because I thought it was a bomb or a mutant bug or something, and Craig… just pulled the leaf out and talked to me calmly, telling me everything was fine, and we continued our walk like nothing happened.” Tweek smiled softly and reached for Craig’s hand, glancing at his eyes. “And it just… hit me how much I really did like him. And it meant a lot to me that, that’s he’s so accommodating to me and my anxiety, but still treats me like a person.” 

It was silent among them for a moment, Craig’s entire face more pink than it was before as he stared back into Tweek’s large eyes in disbelief. 

“Wow,” Token broke the silence first. “That’s… really sweet.” 

“Gross,” Jimmy spoke next, “but sweet.” 

“Timmy!” He stuck his tongue out and crossed his eyes. 

“Timmy’s right,” Clyde snorted. “You’re both so sappy you should open up a waffle house.” 

“Shut up, Clyde.” Craig swallowed and looked away before he kissed Tweek in front of everyone. “I really liked that story, honey, thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” Tweek ducked his head down, noticing that his heart rate had increased immensely. Guess he was more nervous than he thought talking about when he fell in love. 

“Craig’s turn!” Clyde chirped gleefully. “Come on, you have to tell us now!” 

Craig opened his mouth to no doubt argue with his best friend, but then the doorbell rang. 

“Looks like the troublemakers are here,” Token commented, getting to his feet to go answer the door. 

“Now the real party can b-begin,” Jimmy joked. 

Tweet groaned and curled up even more against Craig. “Oh god, I don’t want to do this.” 

“Look on the bright side,” Craig whispered as he rubbed Tweek’s back. “At least fatass isn’t included anymore.” 

Tweek snorted, a small grin appearing on his face. “Yeah, I guess that’s something.” About three years ago, Cartman finally got shipped off to some military school to teach him discipline. He still hung out with Stan’s group for a bit in the summer, but during the school year Butters takes his place as their fourth friend. 

“Hey, dudes.” Stan was the first one to walk into the entertainment room, carrying a large box wrapped in red with a green bow on it. “Where should I put this?” 

“Daaamn!” Clyde whistled, coming over to help him with it. “What the hell did you get?! This is bigger than Token’s gift!” 

“Trust me, it’s not that exciting.” Stan sighed. “You can blame my dad.” 

As the two of them carried their gift to the back of the room, Tweek realized that he hadn’t grabbed his own present out of his duffel bag. “Ack! We should put ours over there, too, Craig!” 

“Oh, right.” They both started rummaging in their duffel bags for the gifts they had brought for the exchange. The used Christmas bags instead of wrapping paper, because neither of them were that good at wrapping presents. 

Tweek looked up when he heard Clyde snort. “Wow, Kyle - nice wrapping paper.” 

“Shut up.” Tweek turned to the redhead, seeing him glaring at Clyde as he held a long, rectangular box in his hand, wrapped in blue paper decorated with gold menorahs all over it. “You do this every year, God - I don’t have  _ Christmas _ wrapping paper! Get over it!” 

“Yeah, but it makes it so obvious to remember which present is yours which basically  _ ruins _ the point of a White Elephant!” Clyde whined. 

“Craig’s the only one who  _ bags _ his present and you don’t complain about that!” Kyle snapped right back.

“That’s not true this year!” Clyde grinned, bounding over to wrap Tweek up in a tight hug. “Tweek brought a bagged gift this year!” 

“Oh.” Kyle blinked, his glare melting into surprise. “Right. I… forgot you were coming.” 

“Y-yeah, well,” Tweek smiled weakly and waved, his eyes travelling to the room entrance as two familiar blondes walked in. “I’m here.” 

“Coffee bean!” Kenny greeted, voice muffled as always, but now by a brown bandana rather than his parka. “You made it!” 

“It’s great to see you, Tweek!” Butters chirped, smiling adorably as always. It was no wonder he won the ‘cutest blonde’ award in sixth grade, even if Craig insisted that should have gone to Tweek. “You’re gonna have a great time, I promise!” 

“I hope so!” Tweek’s voice cracked, so he quickly rushed to carry his bagged gift off to the back of the room with the others, Craig following close behind. 

“You should pick my gift,” Kenny said, holding up a white box that had Christmas-type symbols crudely drawn all around it in red marker. “I think you’ll like it.” He winked, which cemented in Tweek’s mind to  _ not _ pick that gift. 

“You’d like mine, too!” Butters held up another white box with red, Christmas symbols all around it, though his drawings were more bubbly and cute compared to Kenny’s shaky, blocky style. 

“Aw, they’re matching again,” Clyde cooed, clasping his hands together. “When’s the wedding?” 

The question made Tweek jump a little, but Kenny seemed unbothered as he countered: “You still haven’t proposed, Cookie,” before brushing past him to drop his gift off with the others. 

Butters following behind him with a roll of his eyes. “Come on, Clyde - Kenny and I are just good friends!” 

Clyde blew a raspberry and waved his hand down in disbelief. “Yeah,  _ okay _ .” 

“Timmy.” He seemed to agree as he copied Clyde’s hand motion and rolled his eyes. 

Idle chatter continued, but Tweek tuned most of it out and stared at Craig with wide eyes. It didn’t take long for Craig to pull him a little away from everyone and ask, “What’s on your mind, honey?” 

“Kenny and Butters??” Tweek hissed, glancing over at the two who  _ did _ seem to be standing a little closer to each other than usual. “Are th-they -?” 

“Clyde highly suspects,” Craig interrupted with a simple shrug. “But, then again, he basically ships everyone in this school with somebody, so that’s not that surprising.” 

“Didn’t Butters just break up with that girl from France?!” 

“That was three months ago, babe.” 

“Already!?” Tweek deflated a little, looking down at the ground. Where did the time go? It definitely hadn’t felt like three months since the time Butters cried through an entire school week. 

“Yeah.” Craig reached over to rub Tweek’s hair, trying to soothe him. “It’s okay. Time moves weird here, I swear. But he’s  _ super _ over her now, which is just fueling Clyde’s belief that he and Kenny are secretly dating.” 

“No way…” Tweek felt hope rising in his chest. “So there might be another gay couple in the eighth grade?” That would take so much pressure off of them! God, it was always annoying and creepy to have adults take random pictures of them whenever they were on dates!! But if there was another gay couple in middle school, it would be more normalized and maybe they could just live their fucking lives!  _ And _ , more immediately, maybe they wouldn’t be asked so many embarrassing questions during Truth or Dare if the attention was off of them! This was amazing! 

Craig thought for a moment, shrugging and staring into his eyes as he admitted, “There might be two gay couples, babe. They’re just in the closet.” 

“Are you SERIOUS??” Tweek yelled once more in shock and joy - though mostly shock. 

This time Clyde bounded over to check on them, placing each of his hands on one of their shoulders. “Heeeyyy, what’s the happy couple doing over here?” he glanced between them in concern. 

“Nothing!” Tweek smiled at Clyde to show everything was fine. “I’m just excited to be here!!”

Clyde blinked at him owlishly, and Token even walked over in surprise. “You’re excited now?” the rich kid asked. 

“We thought you hh-hated being here,” Jimmy added, moving back towards the couch to sit down. 

“Yeah, dude,” Stan nodded, hands in his pockets. “Why else would you have ditched us the last two years?” 

“I was sick!!” Tweek squeaked, crossing his arms. 

“Yeah, because we all believe that.” Kenny chuckled, his bandana hanging loosely around his neck as he stuffed his mouth with pizza pockets. Oh, they must have finished cooking while Tweek and Craig were talking. 

“Don’t eat them all!” Clyde ran over to grab five from the plate Kenny was holding. 

“Clyde, relax,” Token told him. “We have more cooking as we speak.” 

“Yeah, dude.” Kenny held his plate over his head. “This is the most food I’m going to have all month.” 

Tweek noticed Butters’ smile drop into a sad frown at that, but he just turned away and didn’t say anything. Why would he looked like that unless they really  _ were _ closer than just friends? Wait, what was he saying - it was normal to care about your friends a lot, that didn’t automatically mean anything! Ugh, great, Tweek was going to be hyper aware of both of them and overanalyzing all of their interactions all night, wasn’t he? He sighed and tugged Craig back over to the reclining chair, starting to feel drained already. This was going to be a long sleepover. 


	2. The Main Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek is distracted by the possibility of a new gay couple in South Park, and can't believe it when someone else comes out.

The big group of ten took turns playing Mario Kart. Whoever wasn’t playing either cheered on their favorite current players, or sectioned themselves off to talk one on one or two on two. 

Just as Tweek had guessed, he was hyper aware of every time he saw Kenny and Butters whispering to each other. Butters seemed to be giggling and laughing a  _ lot _ over whatever Kenny was telling him, though there were a few times where he frowned, swatted Kenny’s shoulder, and huffed, “Not appropriate, Ken!” To which the latter just snickered and winked. 

_ Winked _ . Something HAD to be going on between them, right?? 

“Babe,” Craig whispered, gripping Tweek’s chin to pull his gaze away. “Stop staring, geez.” 

“I can’t help it, Craig!!” Tweek chewed at his bottom lip, his eyes rolling to the side as if he could see them through his skull. “It’ll be so nice not to be the only gay couple in school anymore!” 

Craig sighed and released his chin. “I know, honey, but you know staring isn’t nice.” 

“Nngh!” Tweek closed his eyes to stop himself from staring. “I know!!” 

“Just try and relax, Tweek.” Craig pulled him closer, resting Tweek’s head against his shoulder. “We’re going to play Truth or Dare soon and then you can ask some questions.”

“What if they don’t want to answer??” Tweek asked, opening his eyes again as he gripped Craig’s shirt tight in his hand. “If they didn’t want it to be a secret, we’d already know, right??”

“That,” Craig starts slowly, rubbing at Tweek’s back to ground him. “Or there’s nothing to tell.”

“... Oh.” Tweek blinks, relaxing a little. “Yeah, that’s true!” 

“Can we do truth or dare yet?!” Clyde started whining, upside down in his favorite chair so he could kick his feet against the top. “I’m boooored!” 

“Well,” Token paused the game and looked at his watch. “I guess we could. Unless you guys wanna open presents, first?” 

“Nah,” Stan set the controller down and stretched a little. “Let’s open presents at midnight.” 

“Midnight!” Butters spoke up, looking a little worried. “Oh, I’ll be falling asleep by then! You guys won’t draw dicks on my face, will ya?” 

“Don’t worry, baby bear,” Kenny patted Butters’ back with a serious expression. “I’ll protect you.” 

“Well gee, thanks, Ken!” 

“ _ Baby bear?! _ ” Clyde wheezed in shock. Tweek’s jaw just dropped in surprise, so he was glad when Craig closed it for him. 

“Okay!” Token stood up and clapped his hands to gain attention of the room. “Truth or dare it is! Everyone get in a circle! Clyde,” he turned to give him a look, “go get the Hershey’s kisses.” 

“On it, boss!” Clyde gave a little salute before somersaulting off the chair and running to the spread of candy on the counter. 

Soon, everyone was seated in a big circle on the floor (or in a chair if it was close enough), and had three Hershey’s kisses for their “passes.” 

“Who wants to go first?” Token asked, ever the perfect host. 

“Ooh ooh!” Clye swung his arm wildly in the air. “Me, me, me!!” 

Token sighed and gestured to Kyle. “Why don’t you go.” 

“Hey!!” 

Kyle chuckled a bit, giving Clyde an amused look. “Okay, dude, you can go next, but first - truth or dare?” 

“Hm…” Clyde tapped his chin, narrowing his eyes at Kyle as if to guess what he was thinking. “Dare!” 

Kyle grinned, sharing a look with an also-grinning Stan before turning back to his victim. “I dare you to call Bebe and tell her you hate her new shoes.” 

Clyde gasps, slapping his hands to his cheeks in mortification. “If I do that, she’ll give me a black eye!!” 

“What, you’re chickening out already?” Kyle snickered, sharing a low five with Stan who was trying not to lose it. 

“I t-told you!” Stan tried to speak between his laughter. “Clyde’s a wimp with Bebe.” 

“I am not!!” Clyde glared at the two of them before pulling out his phone. “I’ll do it right now!!” 

“Craig, make sure he’s actually calling Bebe,” Kyle requested. 

“No, fuck you,” Craig replied, not wanting to move from his position of holding Tweek’s hand. “You do it.” 

Tweek frowned and poked his cheek. “Craig, come on. You’re closer.” 

Craig sighed and begrudgingly moved away, stealing Clyde’s phone to call Bebe for him. “There, it’s ringing.” 

“CraIG!!” Clyde started freaking out and almost dropped the phone, sweating nervously as his heart leapt into his throat. “Shit shit shit!” 

“You have to leave a message if she doesn’t answer!” Stan added, covering his mouth to try and stop his snickers. 

“I hate you both so much -!” Clyde hissed just as Bebe picked up. 

“Hello? Clyde? Aren’t you at that sleepover thing?” 

“Y-yeah!” Clyde was starting to shake with nerves. “Um, I was just calling to tell you… uh…” He glared at Stan and Kyle who were snickering and gesturing for him to continue. Not to say everyone else wasn’t chuckling a little, but the two instigators were definitely the loudest. “I hate your new shoes!!” 

“... What!?” Bebe snapped so loud that the phone’s audio crackled. 

“Okay, bye!!” Clyde hung up before she could say anything more and threw his phone onto the couch. “Well, I’m not going to even look at that thing for a few hours.” 

Most of the group started laughing openly now, joking about how Clyde would have a million messages and missed calls by tomorrow. 

“You’re right,” Token teased, smirking at him. “She’ll give you a black eye the next time she sees you.” 

Clyde puffed his cheeks out again in a pout before sputtering, “Truth or Dare, Token!!” 

“After that, definite Truth.” Token held up a hand. “No way am I risking you daring me to do anything with Nichole.” 

“Damn it.” Clyde groaned and tossed his head back to stare up at the ceiling. “Um…” His face split into a wide grin as he snapped back to look at him. “Tell us about a wet dream you’ve had!” 

Kenny snorted and offered Clyde a high-five, which he gladly took. Token, on the other hand, was starting to turn red, seriously considering using one of his free passes. 

“It doesn’t have to be the most intense wet-dream you’ve had,” Stan offered. “Just one of them. Like a weird one.” 

“That’s assuming I’ve had more than one!” Token snapped in embarrassment. 

Kenny snickered as he offered, “If you share one, I’ll share one of mine~” 

“No fucking way,” Kyle deadpanned. “You’ve told me some of yours, Kenny - no one wants to hear them.” 

“Kenny’s told you about his wet dreams?” Stan asked, raising a brow at him. “Why?” 

Kyle just shrugged, looking away from his best friend. “You know how Kenny is.” 

“Not yet he doesn’t,” Kenny purred, winking at Stan and wiggling his fingers at him. Butter started laughing then and covered his face. 

“Helloooo,” Clyde interrupted. “I’m still waiting for Token’s wet dream!” 

Token groaned and brought his knees up to his chest, burying his face against them. “Fine!” 

He proceeded to tell them about a dream he had involving himself being a pirate captain hunting for mermaids, but once he found one he somehow shifted into a merman and they went to a coral reef to make out. 

“Ooh!” Butters clasped his hands together, a big smile on his face. “That sounds fun, though!” 

“Tame, but fun,” Kenny agreed. 

Token just grunted in response before surveying the circle. “Tweek, truth or dare.” 

Tweek tensed up, his cheeks pink from Token’s Truth response and his nerves swirling around in his guts. “Um… D… Dare!” 

“Yeah?” Token smiles softly. “I dare you to… tell Craig you hate him.” Most of the circle booed him, saying that was a lame dare, but he argued, “It’s Tweek’s first time! Let’s go a little easy on him.” 

“Ack!” Tweek didn’t seem to like the idea anyway and turned to Craig with wide, apologetic eyes. “I don’t wanna do that!!” 

Craig chuckled, the corners of his mouth upturning in amusement. “It’s okay, Tweek. I know it’s not true.” 

“Yeah, but I still don’t want to say it!” He whined, pulling at his fingers. “Craig, I… I hate you!!” He covered his face right afterwards. “Ugh, that sucked!” 

Craig was still smiling, reaching to stroke some of Tweek’s hair back, as if he were a cat. “You did great, Tweek. Ask someone else now.” 

“Mmmm.” He looked at everyone through his fingers. “Jimmy, Truth or Dare.” 

“Oh!” He straightened up in excitement. “I’ll take a d-dare, as well!” 

Tweek took a deep breath, staring down at the carpet as he tried to come up with a good one. He didn’t want to do anything too mean, but he didn’t want everyone to boo him either. “Um… I dare you to… eat a huge spoonful of peanut butter without drinking any milk!” 

Clyde absolutely lost it, rolling onto his back as he cackled, “Was that the b-best you could come up with!?” 

“I mean, that would be pretty uncomfortable,” Butters said, making a face as he thought about it. “Peanut butter is so sticky!” Kenny snorted and covered his mouth, so Butters pouted at him and poked his head. “Get that mind out of the gutter, mister!” 

“Well,” Token interrupted, standing up. “Let’s get to the kitchen so Jimmy can eat his peanut butter.” 

“This’ll be fff, ffun,” Jimmy cheered as he slipped his lofstrand crutches back into place to stand. “Let’s go f-f-fellas!” 

* * *

Truth or Dare continued for quite awhile after that, with each boy trying to get even more wild with their propositions. Even Timmy was dared to wear underwear (clean, thankfully) on his head for three rounds. And, Clyde kept trying to either ask or dare Craig to talk about when he first fell in love with Tweek. His strategy was to get Craig to use up all of his passes, and with only one left, he was grinning ear-to-ear and just waiting to get two more turns. 

“Won’t be long now, Craigy~” Clyde sang. “You’ll have to tell us sooner or later!” 

“Unless we just stop picking you altogether,” Stan pointed out, since it was his turn. 

Clyde turned crestfallen, clasping his hands together to practically beg, “Pleeeaaase pick me, Stan! I’ll do your homework for a week!” 

“Dude, you get worse grades than me. Not a chance.” 

“Then I’ll do your chores!!” 

“Tempting,” Stan tapped his chin, thinking about it. “But, nah. I have something else in mind. Craig, Truth or Dare.” 

“Just to torture Clyde, Truth.” 

Clyde whined in agony and flopped onto his back as Stan replied, “Hm… kind of similar to Clyde’s question, but how did you… I mean, what made you,” he struggled to find the right words, and everyone’s eyes on him didn’t help. He took a breath before managing to ask, “How are you so okay with being gay? And, like, having that as one of the main ways people think of you?” 

Craig raised a brow at him, curiosity etched into his face. He leaned backwards onto his hands, tilting his head to the side. “What do you mean?” 

“Like, I dunno, man.” Stan was starting to mumble, his gaze cast to the floor. “I just feel like once someone’s labeled as “gay,” that’s like… the only thing people think about you. Like it doesn’t matter what else you do - doesn’t matter if you’re a genius, or great at sports, or great at film in your case. You’re just… gay, and nothing else.” 

The circle was quiet after Stan’s little speech, most assuming that Stan had a very personal reason for asking this question. Kyle was staring at his friend in slight shock, mouth open slightly, and Tweek actually felt still for once. Craig did say there might be other gay couples in the school - was Stan in one of them? 

“Well,” Craig started out slowly, startling everyone out of their own thoughts. “I, personally, don’t feel like that. I mean, yeah, obviously some people are only interested in talking to me because I’m gay, like the yaoi fangirls, or some of the adults, but they can go fuck themselves. I have friends who actually know me and don’t only think of my sexuality when they think of me.” Craig gestured to Clyde. “He’s the exception, since he’s my friend and also very interested in my relationship. But I’m sure he’d be just as interested if I was with a girl, so it doesn’t bother me much.” 

Clyde grinned, giving him two thumbs up. “You got that right, bro. I’m supportive 100%. Unless you break Tweek’s heart.” 

Craig smiled softly, leaning over to kiss Tweek’s cheek, causing the blonde to squeak in surprise. “I would never break his heart. It’s too precious.” 

“Cr-Craaaiiig!!” Tweek whined and covered his face with both hands, curling up as if to hide. “God, stop!!” He curled up even more when he heard the others just chuckle at him. 

“Does that answer your question, Stan?” Craig asked, staring straight at him. 

“Yeah.” Stan nodded, his eyes far away as he avoided looking at anyone in particular. “Thanks, man.” 

“Great. Kyle, Truth or Dare.” 

“What?” Kyle jumped a little, turning his head away from Stan. “Oh, uh. Truth, I guess.” 

“Do you consider yourself 100% straight?” 

Once again, the circle was struck silent. Craig’s blunt question caught everyone off guard. Everyone turned to look at the redhead, but no one was prepared for Kyle’s response. 

“Not really, no.” 


	3. Drama Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A heart-to-heart talk between Stan and Kyle.

“What!?” Stan was the first to speak, his eyes so wide that the red lines in his eyes were showing. “Dude?” 

Kyle sighed, looking away. He seemed more tired than embarrassed. “Stan, come on. You must have assumed by now. Evidently Craig realized it.” 

“Maybe I just have a good gaydar,” Craig tried to joke. He was the one that started this, but he was quickly regretting adding more drama to this night.

“You never -!” Stan stopped, quieting his voice. He leaned in closer to his best friend, almost pleading, “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“Does it  _ matter? _ ” Kyle challenged, snapping his head over to glare at him. “What, are you regretting all our sleepovers? Questioning every hug? God, you’re so immature sometimes.” 

“I didn’t say any of that!” Stan frowned, his expression pained. “I’m not thinking any of that, I just… I’m your best friend -” 

“Are you?” Kyle didn’t look away, his hands clenching into fists in his lap. “Face it, Stan. We’ve been growing apart for  _ years _ . God, it feels like you go through periods of wanting nothing to do with me, and then clinging to me like a security blanket. It’s exhausting.” 

Stan started to look like he was tearing up. He knew Kyle could be a hothead sometimes, but was he really saying all of this shit in front of everyone? “Can we talk in private? Please?” 

Kyle looked ready to snap at him again, but thought better of it. He took a deep breath and stood up. “Fine, whatever. Kenny, you take my turn.” 

The two “super best friends” walked off, the rest of the circle watching them. Once they were out of the room, they had a very important decision to make. 

“We’re definitely going to spy on them, right??” Clyde hissed to everyone. “I do  _ not _ want to miss this!” 

“I’m with Cookie over there,” Kenny seconded. “I’ve been waiting for this for years, guys, you have no idea.” 

“Spying isn’t cool,” Token argued, frowning at them all in disappointment. 

“Yeah!” Butters agreed, crossing his arms with a soft pout. “How would you like it if you were spied on?” 

“Come on, Bubblegum,” Kenny pleaded, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “You can’t tell me you’re not a  _ little _ curious? Besides, I wanna know what’s going on with my friends.” 

“The longer we deliberate, the more we miss!!” Clyde interrupted. “Anyone who wants to spy, come with me!” 

In the end: Clyde, Kenny, Jimmy, and Craig all decided they wanted to go and spy. What can they say - they’re nosy bitches. 

“I’ll tell you the important parts,” Craig promised Tweek as he walked off with his friends. 

Once they were gone, Token sighed and looked at the rest of their group. “Well… now what?” 

“Timmy!” He raised his hand before looking at his communication screen. He finally had one of those computers that could read out the words that his eyes looked at. “Let’s bake a cake.” 

“Ooh!” Butters clapped his hands in excitement. “Yeah! Craig always goes on and on about Tweek’s baking - I wanna try it!” 

“R-really?” Tweek smiled softly. He knew Craig loved his baking, but it was nice to know that he talked about it with everyone else, too. “Sure, I’ll bake you guys a cake.” 

* * *

Stan and Kyle headed to the designated sleeping area for their sleepover - a large room filled with several twin beds. Five against each wall with the feet of the bed facing the center, to be more precise. 

The door closed quietly behind them, and they each took a bed to sit on, facing each other. 

“I’m sorry,” Stan started with, his fingers digging into the comforter. “I… I know I’ve been weird around you. And I know I should have apologized earlier, I just…” 

“Didn’t want to admit you’re a dick?” Kyle snipped. 

“Dude, come on.” Stan looked up at him, the corners of his eyes really watering now. His voice cracked as he continued. “I’m really trying, Kyle.” 

Kyle clamped his mouth shut, his eyes searching his face. He took a breath, his anger seeming to calm just a little. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have said all that stuff in front of everyone.” He looked away, crossing his arms over his chest. “But I did mean most of it. Sometimes I feel like I’m being bounced around at your convenience.” 

“What do you mean?” Stan asked. Not to belittle his feelings, but to genuinely seek insight into what was bothering his friend, and how he could possibly fix it. 

“You honestly don’t know what I’m talking about?” Kyle was starting to get pissed off again. “How about when you blow me off to go hang out with the football team?” 

“I have to do that!” Stan interjected, pushing down at the bed just to do something. “Coach gets pissed if we miss too many “team bonding” experiences, even if they’re last-minute.” 

“Oh, of course.” Kyle rolled his eyes. “Right, it’s the  _ coach _ who allows the football team to drink  _ alcohol _ for “team bonding.” Right.” 

Stan winced, staring down at the carpet. He had no excuse for that part. He knows Kyle doesn’t like his drinking, since he tends to either throw up or black out most times he does. He usually just doesn’t tell Kyle when he drinks. “The coach doesn’t know about that part.” 

Kyle shook his head, his teeth clenched tight in anger. “Fine. I have other examples anyway.” He scooted back on the bed, crossing his legs and holding tightly onto his ankles as he spat, “Let’s talk about  _ Wendy _ now, and how you  _ ignore _ me when you two are dating, and then never leave my side when you guys break up.” 

“You’re exaggerating,” Stan argued weakly. “I talk to you at school every day -” 

“Yeah, that’s school,” Kyle interrupted, his hands tightening around his ankles. “But all of your free time is spent with her, and if I text you there’s no guarantee you’ll even respond in the same day.” 

“I…!” Stan ran his fingers through his hair. He felt like his brain was scrambled, making it hard to say anything. “I’m sorry -” 

“And while we’re on the topic,” Kyle continued relentlessly, “why the  _ fuck _ do you keep going back to her? It’s obviously not going to work out! Get  _ over _ her already!” 

“Kyle, stop.” Stan bowed his head, pulling lightly at his hair. “Please, let me think.” 

Kyle scoffed and rolled his eyes, continuing on before he really thought about how hurtful he was sounding. “And what was with that question you asked Craig? That made it pretty fucking obvious that you don’t consider  _ your _ self 100% straight, and yet you’re mad at  _ me _ for not telling you?” 

“I didn’t tell you because I’m not even sure myself!” Stan yelled, a few tears starting to fall now. “I don’t know if I consider myself, gay, or bi, or fuck - even a  _ girl _ , okay!? I’m just trying to figure it out on my own!” 

“You still could have told me!” Kyle yelled right back, scoffing and rolling his eyes. “Maybe I can help you  _ figure it out _ .” 

“Oh, right - with that fucking judgemental, holier-than-though attitude??” Stan spits out, starting to choke on his tears. The more he spoke, the harder it became to breathe. “You’d ask me questions and I’d keep saying ‘I don’t know,’ and you’d call me an attention seeking idiot just because everything’s so fucking jumbled in my own brain!” 

“I wouldn’t have -!” 

“Sorry we’re not all as smart as you, Kyle!” Stan interrupted. He slid off the bed and started pacing, running his hands through his hair as he sucked down air and tried to make sense of any thoughts running through his head right now. “God, I didn’t know you hated me so much!” 

“Stan, you’re hyperventilating -“ 

“Just shut up!” Stan croaked out. He wanted to say more, but his breathing became faster and faster. His world started blurring, spots of color appearing at the edges of his vision. 

Kyle felt his anxieties rising, fearful of Stan making himself faint. “Stan,” he tried speaking quietly, slowly getting off the bed. “I really think you should lay down.” 

“I don’t…!” Stan stumbled in his pacing, almost falling face-first onto the ground. 

Kyle ran up to him then, grabbing him by the shoulders to steady him. He clenched his teeth as he took in Stan’s irregular breathing, watching his eyes dart back and forth in a panic. “ _ Lay down. _ ” He tugged Stan over to the nearest bed without much struggle, helping him get on so he could lay on his back and focus on breathing. “Take deeper breaths or you’ll faint.” 

Stan opened his mouth a bit wider as if to respond, but all that succeeded in doing was stopping his breathing completely. He had to restart himself with a gasp, closing his eyes as he focused on pulling air in and out of his lungs as he laid on the bed. He fucking hated this - god it was so annoying. Yet his anxiety always,  _ always _ , got this bad when he was trying to figure out what the fuck he was, or what the fuck he wanted. 

He could think of a lot of nights where he just lay in bed, gasping like this, as he tried imagining himself dating a boy. The idea of kissing a boy wasn’t the problem, honestly - in fact, he was more okay with that than he thought he’d be. But then his mind always made him think of how everyone else would react. How everyone would stare at him, whispering about him, making up all sorts of rumors about him, just because he’s with a boy. 

That’s what bothered him the most; that idea that no matter what you do or what you accomplish, that  _ gay _ label is always a part of it. He wouldn’t just be Stan Marsh - he’d be Stan Marsh, a  _ gay _ boy. A  _ gay _ football player, a  _ gay _ animal lover, a  _ gay _ insert-title-here. He hated it. He really didn’t want to stand out anymore than he had to. He wanted people to like him, he wanted to seem  _ normal _ . He didn’t want everything he did to just boil down to his sexuality. 

Not to mention he wasn’t even sure if he was gay. He really did like Wendy - he had ever since he was a little kid. He didn’t feel like that was fake, that he was fooling himself into liking her. So, that left the “bi” or “pan” label, which honestly was even harder for people to understand. 

And, Stan had to admit, he’d also been questioning his  _ gender _ lately, as if all this other shit wasn’t enough. His issues with gender had started long before, back in fourth grade, but he was able to kinda just… push them aside. Until one day, last year, Kenny dared him to put on a dress, and it felt… nice. Not “right,” or anything like that, just… nice. Like he wouldn’t mind wearing more dresses. 

Yeah, he’d quickly shoved  _ that _ shit down deep inside. He did not want to deal with that right now. But he knew he had to - he knew that at some point he had to make a decision. If for no other reason than for his own sanity. 

And he wanted to talk to Kyle about it all. He really, really did. But Kyle was kind of the reason he was questioning his sexuality to begin with, and that was terrifying to admit. To himself, and his best friend. How was he supposed to explain that whenever they were hanging out, playing games, laughing together, that he felt this urge to just… pull him close? Run his fingers through his hair? Kiss him? He couldn’t explain that. Not without dying on the spot. 

“Stan,” Kyle’s voice was quiet for once, gently bringing him back to the current moment. “Are you feeling better?” 

“Yeah.” His breathing was normal again. Now he just felt exhausted. “Better.” He sighed, turning his face away from him. “I’m sorry.” 

“Dude, you don’t have to apologize,” Kyle told him, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to… I’m the one who should apologize.” He looked down at the floor, frowning. “I should have realized this is difficult for you. Hell, it’s still difficult for me.” 

“It is?” Stan turned to him in surprise. “You seem so sure about it though.” 

“I’m sure I’m not straight, yeah,” Kyle shrugged, taking his hand away from Stan to rub at his own arm. “But other than that? It’s debatable.” 

“Really?” Stan turned on his side, curling up a little as he looked at Kyle. They locked eyes, and he whispered, “When did you… figure it out though?” 

“Oh, god.” Kyle flushed, looking away in embarrassment. “Um… awhile ago, I guess. I was planning on telling you soon, actually. It was gonna be my New Year’s resolution.” 

“Oh.” Stan felt guilt chew at his stomach. He swallowed and looked down at the bedspread. “Fuck, I reacted so badly to the news, too. I’m sorry, man.” 

Kyle sighed, his eyes closing. “No offense, but I kind of expected it. Still hurt though.” 

Stan winced, moving to sit at the edge of the bed again so he could take Kyle’s hand. He squeezed it softly, just staring at their joined hands as he whispered, “I really am sorry, Kyle. For everything. Reacting like that, ignoring you… I’m trying not to do that anymore, I promise. Please, just… give me another chance.” He felt himself starting to tear up again. “You’re the best thing in my life, Kyle. I don’t want to lose you - I was just being an idiot. Hell, I’ll still do stupid shit.” 

“Stan,” Kyle stepped closer, pulling his hand away just so he could wrap his arms around Stan in a hug. “I don’t want to say everything’s okay, but… I forgive you. If you’re actually serious about this, anyway.” 

“I am!” Stan insisted, clutching desperately to Kyle. He buried his face against his neck, whispering again, “I am.” 

They held each other for a few long moments, both listening to the other’s rapid heartbeat. Stan still felt like choking up, even though a calmness had settled across his body. He stiffened a bit when Kyle began talking. “So… when did you realize you’re not straight?” 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Stan was quick to say, not moving his face from Kyle’s shoulder. “Not here, not,” his voice cracked, and he swallowed before finishing, “not right now.” 

He could tell Kyle was just a bit annoyed. “All right…” He sighed softly, his tone more accepting as he continued, “All right. I’ll let you do this at your own pace. I got to, after all.” 

“Thank you.” Stan lifted his head, smiling a little. “Really, Kyle.” 

“You’re welcome.” Kyle smiled back. 

For a flash of a moment, they both felt like kissing each other. 

Which, of course, they both ignored. 

* * *

“Oh, my god,” Kenny whispered, his ear plastered to the bedroom door. 

“What? What is it?!” Clyde was way too invested, bouncing on the balls of his feet. His own ear had been pressed against the door at first, but his hearing was somehow worse than Kenny’s and he could only hear muffled sounds. So he backed off and had Kenny narrate. 

Kenny fixed him with a blank, ‘I’m-so-tired-of-this-shit’ stare as he groaned, “They’re totally gay for  _ each other _ and they’re just too chicken to admit it. I should know, since they both have  _ basically told me _ .” 

“Ooooh!!!” Clyde’s eyes were practically sparkling at all this juicy gossip. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier!?” 

“Because I knew if you harassed them about it they’d  _ never _ get together.” Kenny scoffed, moving away from the door. “We better get away - they’ll probably come out soon.” 

“We still w-want details, Kenny,” Jimmy said as the four of them walked off. 

“The other guys are in the kitchen, by the way,” Craig cut in. “Tweek texted me.” 

“Ooh, are they baking!?” Clyde began drooling until Kenny snapped right in front of his face. 

“Do you want to hear about the juicy Style or not?” 

“Yes, yes!!” Clyde clung to Kenny’s arm, grinning up at him. “What did they say to you??” 

Kenny hummed as he thought about how to start this. He didn’t want to completely sell-out his friends, but they were being  _ so annoying  _ with their obvious feelings for each other. Kenny had been trying to get them both to a point where they’d feel comfortable talking with the other, but after tonight he wondered if he should just dare them to kiss or something. “Basically they’ve both admitted to me that they have a crush on their “super best friend” and don’t want things to get weird between them. With a heavy dose of denial on Stan’s part.” 

“This is everything I’ve wanted and more,” Clyde whispers, hugging Kenny’s arm even tighter. “I need to see them confess to each other.” 

“Not a bad idea.” Kenny tapped at his chin, a plan forming. “Clyde, I know you have this plan to embarrass Craig, but what if you help me get some sparks flying between my two buddies?” 

“Yes!” Clyde didn’t need another second to think about it, squeezing Kenny’s arm even tighter in his excited grasp. “A million times yes!” 

“Does this mean you’re not going to try and embarrass me anymore?” Craig had to ask. 

“Oh, I’ll go back to that after I see Stan and Kyle kiss!” 

“I thought you wanted them to conf-fess?” Jimmy pointed out. 

“Kiss, confess - whatever! I want romance!!” 

Kenny snorted with laughter and clutched at his stomach. “That’s the spirit!!” He took a deep breath, calming down before wrapping an arm around Clyde’s shoulders, whispering his plan into those eager ears. Basically, Kenny was instructing Clyde to always pick him for Truth or Dare when it was his turn, so he could get either Stan and Kyle to open up in the next turn. 

He finished explaining just as they arrived at the kitchen. Token, Tweek, Butters, and Timmy were all sitting at the kitchen table, with the two blondes mixing different bowls of dyed frosting. 

“Craig!” Tweek perked up, beaming at him as he mixed his bowl of red frosting. “We have a cake baking. Wanna help frost?” 

“Absolutely.” Craig bounded over, standing behind Tweek and resting his arms around his boyfriend’s shoulders, kissing the top of his head. 

“Had enough eavesdropping?” Butters asked, pouting as he stared intently at his bowl of green frosting. 

“Aw, don’t be like that, Butter Ball,” Kenny sighed, coming over to ruffle Butters’ hair. “I didn’t hear anything I didn’t already know.” 

“What did you hear, then?” Token had to ask. 

“If you wanted to know, you should have come with~” Clyde taunted, sticking his tongue out playfully. 

“Stan and Kyle are so t-totally gay for each other,” Jimmy revealed to no one’s surprise. 

“Jimmy!!” Clyde felt betrayed anyway. “They were supposed to sit in agony of not knowing!!” 

“Oh please, they’d f-find out tonight with your and Kenny’s pl, plan!” 

“Timmy!” he exclaimed before looking at his communication screen for a more clear sentence. “Did they tell each other their feelings?” 

Kenny snorted, rolling his eyes. “I wish. Nah, they’re being dicks about it. That’s why Clyde and I are gonna push them a little bit.” 

“Push them until they kiss!!” 

“ _ Confess _ , Clyde. Geez, and they call me a horndog.” 

“Um, I’m a fanboy - there’s a huge difference.” 

“Ah, so this is where you guys ran off to.” Everyone turned to look at Kyle, who was staring at them all with crossed arms and a suspicious look. “What are you talking about?” 

“Cake!” Tweek squeaked nervously. He swallowed and held out his bowl of frosting. “We’re going to d-decorate a cake!” 

“Sweet!” Stan walked in past Kyle, a small smile on his face. “How are we decorating it?” 

“Well, Butters suggested red and green plaid -” 

“Aw, that’s cute, Butterfly,” Kenny cooed. 

“And complicated,” Token added. 

“Timmy,” he nodded in agreement. 

“Why not just slather a mound of frosting on it and call it a day?” Clyde argued, his mouth already watering from the delicious smell of a baking cake. 

“Because that’s how you end up like Cartman,” Craig poked Clyde’s cheek, causing his friend to whine and swat at him. 

The boys continued to talk about what to do with the cake when it came out of the oven, but Kyle just narrowed his eyes. He swore they’d been talking about him and Stan before they showed up, but like anyone would admit to that. He’d just have to be careful the rest of the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little explanation with Stan and Wendy: the way I see it, one of Wendy's complaints with their on-and-off relationship is that Stan doesn't pay enough attention to her, so in Stan-fashion he tries giving her almost all of his attention in an attempt to keep the relationship going. Maybe this explanation is unnecessary, nonetheless - I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Kissing Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stories of past kisses and a current, in-real-story-time kiss.

“Why did we decide to go back to truth or dare again?” Kyle asked. After the cake decorating (the cake actually looked very nice with red and green plaid, despite the mini frosting-fight that Clyde had instigated), they made their way back to the entertainment room. Instead of playing a different game, like Kyle wanted, Kenny had suggested they keep playing Truth or Dare, a suggestion that Clyde took to immediately and wouldn’t shut up about. “Oh, right,” Kyle rolled his eyes, “because Clyde’s a baby.” 

“I am not!” Clyde pouted. “We’ll just pick up where we left off! So it’s your turn to ask someone, Kyle!” 

“I told Kenny to take my turn.” 

“We ended up baking instead,” Kenny replied, shrugging with a lazy grin. “Didn’t want to be rude and keep playing without you two.” 

Kyle sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Butters, truth or dare.” 

“Oh, gosh, um,” Butters put his hands to his cheeks, his eyes looking left and right as he debated. “D-dare!” 

Kyle had to think for a moment before deciding, “I dare you to spin around while singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”” 

A few of the boys snickered with laughter, while Butters just hoped he wouldn’t throw up. He felt a little nauseous afterwards, but he kept the game going. 

“Tweek, truth or dare?” 

Tweek tensed up, his leg bouncing nervously. “Um… truth.” 

Butters beamed and clasped his hands together, excitedly asking, “What was your first kiss with Craig like?” 

“Butters, I love you,” Clyde whispered. 

“Gah!” Tweek flushed and covered his face. “That’s p-personal!!” 

“You can use one of your passes if you want, honey,” Craig reminded him, rubbing his back soothingly. 

“Mmm,” Tweek thought about it, glancing down at the three he still had. He wanted to save those for something truly embarrassing. “N-no, I’ll answer it!” He swallowed, feeling everyone’s eyes bore into him. “Oh, god, w-well - it was… a month and a half in, after we started dating for real…” 

* * *

**_4th grade._ ** __

Tweek took a deep breath in, loving the faint smell of burning leaves on this autumn night. He and Craig were in his backyard, sitting by a small campfire with a tent and a telescope set up nearby. He couldn’t believe their parents were cool with this - they were the ones who always joked about “leaving the door open” when they hung out together. Still, he was happy the night was warm, and there wasn’t much wind. 

“I wish everyone would turn their lights off,” Craig grumbled next to him, sitting bent over with his legs crossed and his head slumped in his hands. “I wanna see the stars.” 

Tweek chuckled and fiddled with the blanket in his lap. “We’ll just have to wait awhile, Craig. Maybe even till midnight.” 

“Ugh,” Craig groaned and closed his eyes. “Too long to wait.” 

“Oh my god, Craig.” Tweek laughed and gently pushed at Craig’s knee. “We could go in the tent and just play games for awhile? That’ll pass the time!” 

Craig thought about it for a moment, staring at the fire with that same, emotionless face of his. “Sure. Sounds fun.” 

Tweek insisted they put out the fire before heading into the tent, being worried about starting a house fire, but that didn’t take too much time. Soon they were sitting comfortably in their tent, Craig playing some matching game on his phone while Tweek watched, his head resting on the stoic boy’s shoulder. 

After a few rounds, Craig lowered the phone, muttering, “Hey, Tweek?” 

“Hm?” Tweek lifted his head so he could look at his face. “What is it?” 

Craig hesitated, his voice getting quieter as he glanced away. “Have you thought about… kissing? At all?” 

Tweek tensed up, his head starting to feel like a cloud. He squeaked and held a hand up to his lips. “K… kissing?” 

Craig nodded, lowering his head shyly. His shoulders hunched up as if to hide himself. 

“Oh, god.” Tweek swallowed, pulling his legs up to his chest. He felt lighting forming in his cloudy head, his thoughts all scrambled from the electricity. “W-well, I… yes! Of course I want to try it, b-but it’s so scary! And you’re sharing spit with someone else - isn’t that unsanitary?! I don’t understand how it’s supposed to feel good! Which is why I wanna try it so I can see for myself, but what if I end up getting a horrible disease and dying! Or worse,  _ you _ end up -!” 

“Tweek,” Craig interrupted, placing a hand in Tweek’s hair to lightly massage his scalp. “Calm the brain. Okay?” 

“Nnngh,” Tweek groaned and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths. 

“If it helps,” Craig spoke up again, “Lots of people kiss every day, and they don’t die from it. And…” he cleared his throat, getting quiet again, “I really wanna kiss you.” 

Tweek’s heart leaped up into his throat, lighting shooting out from his brain and sending tingling shocks all the way down his spine. Craig wanted to kiss him! W-well, duh, that was normal! They were dating! But, but they were so young, and their immune systems were still developing, and…! 

“We don’t have to do it tonight,” Craig continued when it seemed Tweek was freaking out again. “But I wanted you to know. So you can think about it.” 

“Craaaiiig,” Tweek whined, covering his face. “J-just, give me…” Craig was being so nice about this, as usual. Setting aside his own wants for Tweek’s comfort, even though he panicked about everything. With all Craig did for him, he should be able to give him a kiss. Besides that, he  _ wanted _ to kiss him - his brain was just making him freak out, making him hesitate. He was so sick of that! “You know what - no!” he slammed his fists on the ground, staring up at Craig with determination. “I, I want to do it! Screw my brain - I want to kiss you!!” 

Craig’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “You’re… sure?” 

“Yes!!” Tweek got to his knees, scooting close enough to place his hands on Craig’s shoulders. “But, but do it before I change my mind.” 

Craig felt heat pool into his cheeks as he wrapped his arms around Tweek’s waist, his heart pounding in his chest. He really hadn’t expected to actually kiss Tweek tonight, but he was definitely not wasting the opportunity. He sucked in a breath and leaned in, pressing his lips lightly against Tweek’s. His immediate thought was that Tweek really needed to stop biting his lips, but his second thought was:  _ holy shit we’re kissing _ . Followed by a warmth slowly spreading from his face, down his neck, and settling in the center of his chest. 

When he pulled away, staring into Tweek’s wide, emerald eyes, he said the first thing that was on his mind. “That was nice.” 

Tweek became flustered immediately and buried his face against Craig’s shoulders, his arms curling between them as he tried burying himself against Craig. “It, it was.” Craig’s lips were so warm, and he was so gentle like always. It felt weird at first, his brain making him think of the millions of germs they were sharing, but after pushing that aside… the storm in his brain went away, and he felt… calm. Like how Craig usually made him feel, but more. A happier calm, maybe? He was closer to Craig than ever; he’d pushed aside his stupid fears and was finally able to enjoy something normal and fun. He felt pride blooming in his chest like a late flower, his lips settling into a relaxed smile. 

He loved this. He loved how Craig made him feel more comfortable in his own skin. Not just when they were together, either - all the time. God, just a year ago, he would have probably screamed bloody murder at the idea of him kissing  _ anyone _ , but now… 

Tweek lifted his head, asking quietly, “Should we try again?” 

Craig didn’t respond - he simply leaned in for another kiss. 

* * *

**_Current time_ ** **.**

“Awwww!” Butters and Clyde both felt like melting after Tweek finished the story. 

Tweek, on the other hand, was shaking and covering his flushed face, even with Craig hugging him close and smoothing his hair back to calm him down. 

“I didn’t know you could be so romantic, Craig,” Token teased, laying on his stomach and supporting his grinning face with his hands. 

“Yeah!” Jimmy snickered. “This changes your wh-whole image!” 

“Shut up,” Craig grumbled, unable to look at anyone right now. 

“You’re so lucky!” Clyde complained, flopping pathetically onto his back. “Both of you!!” 

“Their love shall last throughout the ages,” Kenny prophesied, clasping his hands together as if to pray. 

“Timmy!” He clapped happily in agreement. 

“I can’t wait for the wedding!” Butters chirped. 

“Guys,” Craig cut in, frowning. “Stop. Please.” He shot his eyes back to Tweek before looking at them again, trying to silently bring attention to the fact that Tweek was still curled up and shaking against Craig, his hands pulling tight at his hair. The group fell silent then, feeling a little guilty. Craig just sighed and mumbled something to Tweek, who nodded in response. “I’ll take Tweek’s turn. Kenny, truth or dare.” 

“Dare, baby.” Kenny winked. 

Craig didn’t even have to think. “I dare you to kiss Butters.” 

“Ooooh!” Clyde grinned, sitting back up with the widest grin possible. “Yes! Yes!!” 

“Hold on,” Token held a hand out, being the referee. “For dares involving other people, they have to agree.” 

All attention turned to Kenny and Butters, who were both sitting with a bit more attention. 

“Well,” Kenny started, turning to Butters with a small smile. One of his hands lifted to rub at his neck. “It’s up to you, then.” 

“Oh, geez!” Butters put his hands up to his flushed cheeks. He was smiling, but whether it was out of awkwardness or eagerness, that was up for debate. “Well, I don’t wanna be labeled a coward!” 

Kenny snorted and shook his head. “All right then.” 

Clyde gasped when Kenny went for it. Just a quick brush of their lips, both of their eyes closed as they stayed close for for a few seconds. 

“Wait!!” Clyde scrambled to find his phone. “I want a picture!!” 

“I’ve got you covered,” Craig spoke up, phone in hand. “But I’ll delete it if you don’t leave me the fuck alone with truth or dare tonight.” 

Clyde felt like his soul was escaping his body. “You bastard, you planned this!!” 

“It’s not my fault you lose your phone constantly.” 

The two best friends argued back and forth a bit longer, while Kenny and Butters just smiled at each other. Butters giggled and covered his eyes, while Kenny laughed and poked one of those cute, chubby cheeks of his. 

Stan and Kyle had been watching their friends quite closely and exchanged curious glances, wondering if either of them knew anything about this. They’d talk later. 

“Fellas,” Jimmy spoke up, “let’s keep the game r-rolling, shall we?” 

“Right, right.” Kenny chuckled and finally took his gaze off of Butters. “Kyle, back to you.” 

Kyle narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Hadn’t he just went a few turns ago? “Truth.” 

“Perfect.” Kenny leaned back on his hands, sprawling his long legs out. “Who was the first boy you ever kissed?” 

The circle went silent for the umpteenth time that night, everyone looking at a furious Kyle. 

“Gee, that’s a fucking loaded question, don’t you think?” 

“You already came out to us here,” Kenny shrugged. “Either answer or pass.” 

Kyle just continues glaring at Kenny, ignoring everyone else for right now. “Fuck off. You know it was  _ you _ .” 

… 

“Holy shit,” Clyde whispered. 

“For real?!” Jimmy’s eyes widened. 

“I’m not surprised,” Token shrugged. 

“When did this happen?” Stan asked, mouth open slightly in amazement. 

“Well, I don’t have to answer that, now do I?” Kyle snapped, not even looking at him. “Jimmy, truth or dare?” 

“Um…” Jimmy didn’t seem to want to get in the middle of this. 

“Kyle,” Stan tried again, reaching for Kyle who just turned away from him. 

“ _ Jimmy, truth or dare? _ ” 

Jimmy chewed at his lip. “Um… da -” 

“Stan and I kissed once!” Butters blurted out. 

“Butters!” Stan yelled, his face turning pale way too fast. “What the fuck!” 

“I, I just didn’t want you and Kyle to be mad at each other again!” 

“I  _ need _ this story!!” Clyde was shaking his fists up and down in excitement. 

“Everyone, calm down,” Token got to his knees, holding his hands out to try and calm the situation. “We’re getting away from the game.” 

“I wanna h-hear this, too,” Jimmy replied. 

“Same, honestly,” Kenny was looking at Butters with a raised brow, his mouth in a neutral line. 

Butters looked down at the floor, playing with his fingers. “Well, um -“ 

“Don’t you dare say anything!” Stan yelled again, his shoulders shaking, tears at the corner of his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it!”

“Stan,” Kyle held a hand out to him, but Stan slapped it away. 

“I don’t want your pity!” he yelled, closing his eyes. “God, you’re all so fucking obsessed aren’t you!? Can’t a guy just try and figure shit out on his own!” 

“I’m s-sorry, Stan,” Butters mumbled. 

“Well it’s too late for that, isn’t it!” Stan turned on him, tears starting to fall. “What do you guys want to hear? That I’m a fucking mess who doesn’t know if I’m trans or bi or  _ whatever _ the new thing is!? Because that’s it! Can we move on now! God!” He stood up, wiping furiously at his eyes as he practically ran out of the room. 

Everyone stayed put for a long moment, processing what Stan had just blurted out. The eavesdroppers weren’t that surprised to hear this again, but it was still painful to see a friend break down like that. 

“I’ll,” Kyle started to get up first. “I’m gonna go talk to him.” 

“Wait.” Tweek stood up, not shaking anymore, though his eyes were a bit red. “Let me talk to him.” 

“Tweek,” Kyle shook his head. “I don’t think -” 

“I know what I’m doing.” Tweek turned away from everyone. “He probably can’t face you right now.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” Kyle huffed defensively, crossing his arms. “I’m his best friend!” 

“That’s exactly why he can’t face  _ you _ right now,” Tweek pointed out, heading after Stan. He stopped just at the exit, turning to look at everyone. “I think we should stop with this stupid game now, guys.” 

He turned to leave, and everyone else exchanged looks. 

“I think he’s r-right,” Jimmy spoke quietly, rubbing at one of his arms. “Too much drama.” 

“Back to video games?” Clyde suggested with a sheepish grin. 

“Sounds good to me.” Token stood up, stretching out. “Clyde, help me set up.” 

“Aye aye!” Clyde gave a mock salute before springing to his feet. 

Kyle just watched them, still seated on the floor with his legs pulled up to his chest. He stared down at the floor miserably, a hollow feeling in his gut. He didn’t know how to feel about Stan and Butters having kissed before, just like he didn’t know how to feel when he and Kenny had kissed. He’d just wanted to figure things out, and Kenny had been a very vocal pansexual ever since sixth grade (not that anyone was surprised). Who better than Ken to talk about some confusing feelings with? 

* * *

**_7th grade._ **

“So,” Kenny was laying on his back on Kyle’s bed, his hands behind his head as he grinned. “You think you like a boy?” 

“Yeah.” Kyle felt like a mouse as he sat on his desk chair, one leg pulled up to his chest, facing Kenny with pink cheeks. “But how do you know for sure?” 

“Well,” Kenny turned on his side, giving Kyle a serious look. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but even with girls you were never really sure if you liked them, right?” 

Kyle sighed and rested his head on his knee, closing his eyes. “No, you’re right. It’s like… I need someone to tell me “that’s a crush” before I realize it.” 

“Well,” Kenny turned onto his stomach, bringing his hands up for his head to lay on. “Did anyone tell you that you’re crushing on this guy?” 

Kyle opened his eyes in surprise, thinking that over. “... No…” 

“Then, why do you think it’s a crush?” 

“I don’t know!” Kyle threw his hands up in exasperation, putting his leg down and turning his chair away. He felt those stupid butterflies brushing their wings against the inside of his chest. “Because… because when I’m with him, I…” 

“You just want to be close to him?” Kenny supplied, his eyes slipping closed. “Hold his hand, cuddle him, make him laugh - kiss him?” 

Kyle hunched over in his chair, hugging himself tightly as he closed his eyes. “Wow, you really are the expert, huh?” 

“I’m not an expert,” Kenny told him with a sigh. “I’ve just experienced a lot. So listen when I say - just tell Stan how you feel.” 

Kyle whipped around, his cheeks turning a rosy red now. “I never said it was -!” 

“You didn’t have to.” Kenny chuckled and sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed with his legs dangling. “But fine, we’ll pretend it isn’t Stan.” 

Kyle just glared at him then, turning to look out the window with a sigh. “You’re infuriating.” 

“I know,” Kenny winked, sticking his tongue out playfully. “That’s why you love me~” 

Kyle flushed more and covered his face, shaking his head. “... I… I’m just not sure if I’m ready to tell him yet. I mean, what if I’m wrong? What if I’m not actually attracted to guys, and this is just stupid hormones talking or something?” 

“Oh my god.” Kenny snorted and covered his mouth before he could start really laughing. “Hormones don’t make you attracted to anything with a pulse. That’s  _ you _ that’s experiencing the attraction!” 

“Don’t laugh at me!” Kyle snapped, his hands clenching into fists. “God, you’re such an ass.” 

Kenny couldn’t stop right away; he got a few more snickers in before taking a deep breath. “Okay, okay - if you’re worried about  _ that _ , there’s an easy fix.” 

“Oh yeah?” Kyle raised his brow. “And what’s that?” 

“Kiss me.” 

“What!?” Kyle jumped to his feet, staring at Kenny like he was crazy. “No! Why would I -” 

“I’m a guy,” Kenny started to piece this together for him, kicking his legs back and forth against the bed with a lazy grin. “You can pretend I’m your crush, and if you enjoy kissing me, even just a little, that would prove it’s not “hormones,” right?” 

“Or you’re just fucking horny,” Kyle bit at him, crossing his arms. “I’m not kissing you.” 

“All right, suit yourself.” Kenny shrugged. “But I’m just saying - if you’re unsure, it’s better to experiment with a friend who understands, instead of a partner who could get hurt.” 

Kyle clenched his teeth, searching Kenny’s face. He didn’t seem to be doing this as some kind of kink, or a stupid prank. And what he just said was right - he didn’t want to hurt anyone. Least of all… Stan. It really was one of this things holding Kyle back; wondering what would happen if he worked so hard to start dating his best friend just to find out he actually hated kissing him. Stan was always a mess after breakups - he didn’t want to be the cause of that. 

He swallowed, turning his head away as he mumbled, “Okay, fine.” 

“You’re sure?” Kenny had to check. “I’m not pressuring you, I’m just trying to help -” 

“I know, okay!” Kyle stomped over, standing right in front of him with a nervous twinge in his lips. “I just… want to know for sure.” 

Kenny searched his face, looking for any signs of hesitation. When he didn’t find any, he stood up and gently lead Kyle to be the one sitting on the bed. “Then close your eyes, and imagine I’m Stan - or “whoever” your crush is.” 

“Fuck off,” Kyle grumbled before doing as he was told. He realized his heart was going way faster than before, the thumping loud in his ears as he waited for Kenny to do it already. 

He tensed up when he felt the softest touch against his lips. He didn’t know Kenny could be this soft - wait, he’s supposed to pretend it’s Stan. 

Kyle gripped his comforter tight between his hands, taking a deep breath through his nose as he tried to picture it. Stan standing in his room, kissing him softly. They’re both not quite sure what they’re feeling, but they want to make sense of it together. They’ve… they’ve kind of always liked each other, but as the years went on their feelings changed. Molded into something new, and… beautiful. And even though it was scary, and confusing, and messy - they were here, in this moment, together, and it felt… right. There wasn’t anyone else they’d rather figure this out with. 

He felt himself start to melt as Stan buried a hand into his hair. He leaned in further, reaching up to wrap his arms around Stan’s neck. But, wait, Stan’s hair didn’t go down to his shoulders… 

Kyle snapped his eyes open, pushing Kenny away as ice slid down his back. He covered his mouth, doubling over as he felt his breaths come too quick, too fast. 

“Kyle?” Kenny’s quiet, hesitant voice reached his ears. 

“Fucky, Kenny,” he whispered, having to gasp for air. He covered his face, moving to lay on his bed and curl up properly. Tears fell right onto the bedspread, and his body started shaking with repressed sobs. “ _ Fuck _ .” 

“Kyle, it’s okay.” Kenny knelt beside the bed, brushing Kyle’s hair back comfortingly. “Now you know, right?” 

“Now I know and it’s  _ terrifying! _ ” Kyle corrected, dropping his hands to look at him as the tears kept coming. “It shouldn’t have been  _ that _ easy to imagine you were Stan!” 

Kenny’s jaw tightened, but he decided not to comment. “Look… I know it’s scary to really like someone, but -” 

“But nothing!” Kyle turned away from him then, taking a deep breath. “Why am I doing this to myself!? This is just torture! Like Stan would ever feel the same way? He’s always crawling back to Wendy! Even if he  _ did _ like guys, I’d never stand a fucking chance!” 

“You don’t  _ know _ that -” 

“Oh, and you do?” Kyle’s chest started shaking again, and he covered his face right as a sob broke through. He didn’t realize just how much he’d been bottling this up. In a way, he’d almost been  _ hoping _ that he wasn’t actually attracted to guys, because if he was, then he’d just have to admit that Stan would never feel the same way, that his crush was hopeless. Why did he have to fall for his best friend? “I must hate myself.” 

“Kyle, you’re being dramatic.” Kenny sighed, glancing off to the side. “Look, it’s obvious you’re way too nervous to tell Stan anything right now. So just… wait it out.” 

Kyle tried to control his quick breaths, swallowing and forcing himself to look at him. “Wait it… out?” 

“Yeah.” Kenny nodded. “Just wait. See how you feel in a few months, or hell - even a year. If you still feel this strongly about him after that… well, you can decide where to go when you get there.” 

Kyle started to calm down. He sniffled and wiped at his eyes. “You think… that would be fine?” 

“Yeah.” Kenny nodded. “You can always start gradually, too. Like, tell Stan you’re bi, or whatever you think you are. See how he reacts to that.” 

Kyle scoffed, mumbling pessimistically, “He’d probably avoid me for a month.” 

Kenny frowned, shaking his head lightly. “He’s not as bad as he was anymore. He’s trying to be a better person.” 

Kyle scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Why are you sticking up for him?” 

“Because he’s my friend, too,” Kenny reminded him, crossing his arms. “I care about  _ both _ of you idiots, okay? Even when you’re assholes.” 

“Like you’re not an asshole?” 

Kenny shrugged, grinning as he joked, “I know I love a good asshole.” 

“Gross!” Kyle pushed him, but he couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “TMI, Ken.” 

Kenny just snickered, hopping onto the bed next to him. “That’s nothing. Wanna hear about the wet dream I had last night?” 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Great - so it started with me in a pancake factory…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone's still enjoying!! I'm sorry if I don't reply to every comment - sometimes I'm just not sure what to say. But I truly appreciate anyone who takes the time to comment anything - even just to say they liked it. You all are beautiful and I hope you're having a good January <3


	5. Time to Come Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really think the chapter title says it all.

**_Current time_ ** . 

Tweek took a deep breath, stopping just before the room with all the beds. He had a little trouble finding Stan in Token’s giant house at first, but all he had to do was follow the sound of someone crying. 

Swallowing nervously, Tweek pushed the door open, stepping quietly in and closing the door behind him. “Stan?” 

The crying went quiet for a moment, replaced by sniffling. “... Tweek?” 

“Yeah, it’s me, man.” He walked further in. Stan wasn’t in sight, but he quickly found him behind the third bed on the left, sitting with his back against the wall and his legs pulled up to his chest. “Can we talk?” 

Stan exhaled quickly, shaking his head and closing his eyes in disbelief. “About what? I already embarrassed myself.” 

“Well,” Tweek sat down across from him, his legs crossed as he stared at the floor. He chewed at his lip as he tried to think of what to say. God, he’d had this plan in his head, but of course it decided to leave his brain when he actually got there. “Look, I’m not going to pretend I know everything you’re going through right now. I never had to worry about “coming out” - hell everyone else knew I was gay before  _ I _ did!” 

Stan actually laughed a little at that, rubbing at his eyes with a sigh. “Yeah, that’s true.” 

Tweek smiled a little, rubbing at the back of his neck as he continued. “So, yeah, I don’t know what that’s like. But I do know  _ fear _ .” He looked up at Stan, glad to see he had his attention. “I’ve been afraid of everything my whole life, man. And it  _ fucking sucks _ . You lie awake at night, thinking of everything that terrifies you, and it squeezes your chest like it wants to break your ribs and pierce your organs!” Tweek stopped and took a breath, since his own chest was starting to feel tight. “And... it feels like there’s no way out. Like everything’s out to get you.” 

Stan curled up a bit more, sniffling as he looked at the floor between them. “That’s exactly what it’s like.” 

“I know,” Tweek scooted closer, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “But it doesn’t have to be like that forever.” He took his hand away, giving a small smile. “This goes without saying, but I’ve improved a lot since me and Craig got together. I feel more in control, I only have panic attacks like, four times a year now. Sure, sometimes my fears still get the better of me, but I’m happier.” 

“That’s great, man.” Stan smiled, wiping away the last of his stray tears. 

“It is.” Tweek agreed, his smile going away as he added, “but Craig can’t take all the credit -  _ I _ had to decide that enough was enough. I had to decide that I was tired of being afraid all the time, and you know the scariest thing of all?” 

“What?” Stan asked, completely entranced. 

“I had to accept that I needed help,” Tweek finished. He looked down, recounting, “I had to learn how to trust other people to help me. I had to  _ open up _ , even if I was terrified while I did. No one else could make me do that,  _ I _ had to do that.” He looked back up, staring right into Stan’s wet eyes. “Just like you have to if you want to get over this.” 

Stan took a deep breath, his eyes turning glassy as he stared into space. Tweek… he knew what he was talking about. And Stan  _ was _ tired; he was tired of being afraid. Afraid of judging peers, of his own feelings, of  _ change _ . He’d  _ wanted _ to talk with someone about all of this for so long now, but his fear always made him shut up. “How did you… make yourself talk, even though you were scared?” 

“Honestly, it took a few tries.” Tweek laughed a little, shaking his head. “And you don’t have to talk about everything right away. It… it helps if you have someone patient to talk to. Like a psychologist.” 

“I can’t do that.” Stan felt his familiar fear seeping into his bones. “I’m not ready for… that.” 

“It’s really not that bad,” Tweek tried to convince him. “It was scary the first few times, but… I’m glad I went to a real counselor.” 

“I can’t.” Stan swallowed, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’d have to tell my parents, and my dad would be a fucking asshole about it.” 

“Right, right…” Tweek sighed. “Sorry, I forgot.” 

“It’s okay.” Stan took a breath, looking up at the tired blonde. Someone patient to talk to… or, maybe several people? Kenny was always willing to listen, and Butters was always full of sympathy and random bits of wisdom. And Kyle… he could be harsh, but he’d always tell him what he truly thought. About anything, even difficult things. “Tweek… thank you.” He let go of his legs, letting them lay flat on the ground as he wiped at his eyes again. “I think I know what I want to do now.” 

“Yeah?” Tweek smiled, moving to stand up. “That’s great, man.” 

Stan smiled a little, using the bed to help him stand. “I… I want to tell Kyle everything. Even if it scares me.” 

“Everything?” Tweek’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“Yes.” Stan looked up at him. For the first time in a long time, he felt sure about something. “It’s like you said - I’m so tired of being afraid. And Kyle… he’s at the center of it.” 

“Geez.” Tweek rubbed at his forearm. “That sucks.” 

Stan snorted. “Tell me about it. Ugh,” he rubbed a hand down his face. “Now I have to face everyone…” 

“I’ll help,” Tweek offered. “Or try to, anyway. Clyde can be a handful.” 

“They’re all a handful,” Stan scoffed, heading towards the door. “But really, what am I afraid of? I already outed myself to everyone. Might as well embrace it.” 

* * *

“Do you think Stan hates me now!?” Butters blubbered, clinging desperately to Kenny’s shirt as the boy rubbed his back comfortingly. “Oh, of course he does! I can’t believe I just blurted that out!” 

“I can’t believe you two kissed at all,” Kenny grumbled. The other guys were busy playing Super Smash Brothers, but he could feel Kyle and Timmy’s eyes on him. “Look, Buttercup, Stan’s going through a lot right now. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I’m sure he doesn’t hate you.” 

Butters sniffled more and buried his face against Kenny’s shoulder. “You’re, you’re right… I’ll just apologize, and… and…!” 

“And?” Kenny prompted with a whisper. 

Butters swallowed, mumbling so quietly that Kenny could barely hear, “I’ll come out, too.” 

Kenny’s eyes widened. He glanced over at Kyle, who quickly glanced away. “Butters, are… you sure? Your parents -” 

“Aw, these guys won’t tell anyone, right?” 

“Have you  _ met _ Clyde?” 

“Well, I don’t care anymore!” More tears started streaming down Butters’ face. “I’m so tired of, of hiding my feelings!” 

“Shh,” Kenny tried soothing him, stroking his hair back and easing his head back onto his shoulder. “Okay, okay… If you really want to, of course I’m fine with it.” 

Butters sniffled, smiling softly against him. “Thanks, Ken.” 

Kenny smiled softly back at him before looking at the TV. He couldn’t believe all of the drama happening around him. Part of him was a little miffed that Stan had went to Butters to experiment with instead of him, and another part of him was  _ more _ miffed that Butters had never told him about it. Wasn’t he supposed to be terrible at keeping secrets?? Ugh, he should calm down - Stan was going to come back eventually, and who knows what kind of state he’ll be in. He’d just forget about it. He’d already known Butters had kissed before - he’d had girlfriends in the past. He’d just… thought he had been his first male kiss, that’s all. 

“Ken?” Butters whispered, looking up at him with those shiny eyes of his. “You’re not mad at me, are you?” 

Kenny sighed, glancing away. “What would I have to be mad at you for?” 

“You know.” Butters swallowed, burying his face against Kenny’s chest. “Kissing Stan?” 

Kenny chewed at his bottom lip, helpless at resisting the urge to run his fingers through that blonde tuft of hair. It was so soft, just like the boy in his lap. “No, no. I mean, unless we were dating when you kissed him.” 

“No!” Butters lifted his head, staring at Ken with fresh tears in the corners of his eyes. “I would never! We kissed last year - I was trying to help him out, like you always help people out!” 

“Shh, shh,” Kenny put a finger to his lips, smiling softly at him. “It was a joke. I know you’d never do something like that.”

Butters sighed in relief, rubbing at his eyes again. “Ugh. I’m gonna get dehydrated.” 

“I could make you wet again~” 

“Kenny!!” Butters pushed at his face, but an amused smile was worming its way onto his lips. “That’s not funny.” 

“Then why are you smiling~?” 

“Because you’re ridiculous!” Butters laughed, shaking his head. He leaned in for a quick kiss, but before he could he heard two sets of footsteps approaching the room. He turned to look, gasping as he saw Stan and Tweek returning. 

“Hey, guys.” 

The game was immediately paused as everyone turned to look at the room’s entrance. Tweek was giving a nervous smile and playing with his fingers, while Stan had a hand clasped to his opposite forearm, avoiding looking at anyone. 

“Stan,” Kyle spoke up first, getting to his feet and heading over. “Dude, are you okay?” 

“Yeah.” Stan nodded, looking over at Tweek with a small smile. “I’m feeling better.” He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before looking at everyone else. “I’m sorry I’ve been weird all night, guys. But, you know, I guess it’s time I just… say it.” He closed his eyes, taking a few breaths. He felt as if his heart was stopping. Was he really going through with this? This was insane, wasn’t it? Was he even completely sure - 

He jumped a little as he felt someone take his hand. He looked over, surprised that Tweek had taken his hand and squeezed it, giving him a reassuring smile. “You can do it, Stan.” 

Stan smiled back, squeezing his hand before pulling away. “Thanks, Tweek.” He turned back to the room, taking another deep breath and closing his eyes. He was ready, he was ready. He wanted to do this, he  _ needed _ to do this: 

“I’m bi, and fuck whatever my gender is!” 

He tensed up, anticipating negativity to be given back to him. But, of course, everyone present was more or less supportive. 

“Woohoo!” Kenny pumped a fist in the air. “I hear that!” 

“Duh.” Jimmy rolled his eyes. 

“You kinda already said that earlier,” Token pointed out. 

“Timmy,” he joined in on rolling his eyes at how obvious it was. 

“Beautiful! Amazing!” Clyde clapped fast and quick like the excited boy he was. “Inspirational!!” 

“Took ya long enough,” Craig huffed. 

“Stan,” Kyle just smiled, pulling him into a hug. “That took a lot of courage. I’m proud of you.” 

Tears once again started falling from his eyes. He sniffled and hugged Kyle tight, smiling wide. “Thanks, Kyle. That means a lot.” He pulled away, staring into his eyes. “And I promise to talk with you more, about… everything.” 

“Everything?” Kyle seemed confused. “Didn’t you just say everything?” 

“No, not really,” Stan replied quietly, glancing away again. “Later, I promise.” 

“I’m really happy for you, Stan!” Butters exclaimed, having gotten to his feet halfway through. “But I’m still really sorry for what I said earlier -” 

“Yeah, that sucked,” Stan agreed, tugging Kyle over to the center of the couch. “But it’s cool now, man.” 

“It’s not cool!” Butters swallowed, staring down at the ground. “So, to… to make up for it, I have an announcement!” He looked over at Kenny, who simply gave him two thumbs up and a calm smile. “I’m bi, too!” Butters exclaimed happily, placing his hands on his hips. “And Kenny and I are dating!” 

“Are you fucking kidding me,” Jimmy mumbled. 

“YES!” Clyde leaped to his feet, jumping up and down. “I called it! I  _ so _ called it! Jimmy, you owe me twenty bucks!!” 

“But Kenny’s a t-total manwhore!” Jimmy argued, crossing his arms. “I ref-fuse to believe this.” 

“Hey!” Butters interrupted, scowling at them. “Kenny’s a great boyfriend!!” 

“Yeah,” Kyle spoke up for his friend. “I mean, okay, when he’s not dating anyone, anything’s fair game, but when he  _ is _ dating someone - he’s loyal.” 

“Aww,” Kenny held his hands over his heart, positively touched. “Thanks, guys!” 

Butters huffed and went back over to cuddle up to Kenny, sticking his tongue out at Jimmy. 

Kenny chuckled and kissed Butters’ forehead, explaining further, “We started dating two weeks after Suzette broke up with him.” 

“Kenny’s great at comforting people,” Butters complimented, smiling brightly up at him. They held gazes for a moment until Butters frowned, looking back at the others. “But you guys can’t tell anyone, all right? Oh, my parents would kill me if they knew…” 

“That’s an exaggeration, right??” Tweek asked, starting to sweat nervously. “Oh, god!” 

“We’re not sure.” Kenny sighed, looking down at the ground. “Just, please… don’t tell anyone.” He coughed the name “Clyde” under his breath. 

“Hey!” Clyde whined. “I’m not gonna tell anybody!!” 

“And if he does, I’ll beat him up,” Craig promised. 

“Ditto,” Token promised. 

“Timmy!” he spoke up, finishing with his monitor, “And I’ll run him over.” 

“Wow, what great friends I have!” Clyde throws up his hands in exasperation. 

“You l-love us,” Jimmy teased. 

Clyde just continued to grumble. Until Token unpaused their video game, then he screeched and scrambled for his controller. “I wasn’t ready! No one attack me yet!!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go, just to wrap things up! Thankfully this was the last of the drama in this fic XD


	6. Relaxing Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping things up all nice and sweet.

Thankfully, all of the drama seemed to have ended after Stan came back. The rest of the night was spent yelling at video games, screaming at horror movies, and laughing at the dumb presents everyone brought to the White Elephant (Stan’s dad had made him bring a big jar of weed - he slipped a twenty dollar bill in as the real present). 

Eventually, 1am rolled around, and most of the boys wanted to go to sleep. But of course, excitement caused them to put in just one more movie before officially retiring to the guest beds. 

Tweek and Craig didn’t mind. Since everyone was sleepy anyway, they could cuddle in their recliner without anyone bothering them too much. 

“Mm,” Tweek hummed, nuzzling further against Craig’s chest. They were laying back a bit, Tweek curled up on the side with his top arm around Craig’s waist, his hair gently being played with by Craig’s steady hand. While he was ready to fall asleep, his brain was still buzzing with the earlier excitement. He’d been so excited to learn that Kenny and Butters were together - they were so cute and happy! But it sucked that they needed to keep it a secret, since that meant all of the attention would still be on him and Craig as the only  _ out _ gay couple in the school. Still, he supposed it was nice not to be so alone anymore. 

“Honey,” Craig whispered, brushing Tweek’s hair back so he could look up at him. 

“Yeah?” Tweek took the opportunity to sit up and stretch his neck out. Cuddling was nice, but you ended up in weird positions. 

“Look.” Craig helped Tweek turn so his back was laying on Craig’s chest before he gestured over to the side. When Tweek looked over, he saw Kyle sitting on the couch with Stan’s head on his shoulder, their hands clasped together. “Whatever you said to Stan,” Craig whispered, “must have really helped him out.” 

Tweek smiled bright, turning onto his side again to grin up at Craig. “I’m capable of more than I think, right?” 

Craig snorted and shook his head, unable to stop a grin from taking over his own face. “Shut up, babe.” 

Tweek snickered and went back to laying on top of his boyfriend, closing his eyes. 

However, it seemed Craig wasn’t done yet. “Hey,” he whispered, running his fingers through Tweek’s hair again. “Do you… wanna hear about when I fell in love with you?” 

Tweek snapped his eyes open, pushing himself up to stare right into his eyes. “What? You, you wanna tell me? Now!?” 

“Yeah.” Craig had a small, relaxed smile on his face. It made Tweek’s mouth run dry. “It’s short anyway. The gist of it is… I’ve liked you ever since we had that fight in third grade.” 

“What!?” Tweek’s jaw dropped. “You mean that fight that Cartman and them set up??” 

Craig nodded in response, gently pushing Tweek’s jaw back up. 

“But…!” Tweek felt his head spinning. “But that doesn’t make any sense! You were so insistent you weren’t gay when everyone thought we were together!” 

“Well, yeah,” Craig frowned a bit as he remembered it. “Because I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself yet. Plus, it kinda sucked having everyone pair me with my crush before I could even say anything to you.” 

Tweek felt like his face was on fire. He buried his face against Craig’s shoulder, stammering, “I c-can’t believe you’ve liked me for that long!!” 

“Why not, babe?” Craig asked, kissing the top of his head. “Why wouldn’t I fall for someone who can beat me up?” 

Tweek snorted and looked up at him with a raised brow. “Is this your way of telling me you’re a masochist?” 

“Maybe.” 

“Craig!” Tweek smacked his shoulder, laughing as he shook his head. 

“Hey, guys,” Kenny called out, snickering from the beanbag he and Butters were curled up on. “We can hear everything you’re saying.” 

“You’re lucky Clyde’s unconscious right now,” Butters added. 

“That’s why I started talking about this in the first place,” Craig revealed. “That’s what he gets for trying to embarrass me all night.” 

“Ah, so you’re a sado-masochist,” Kenny joked, winking at him. “I can relate.” 

“Ken!” Butters covered Kenny’s mouth with a pout. “Shush!” 

“Craig, I think your whole crew is out,” Stan pointed out. Timmy was slumped over in his chair, Jimmy was lying on the floor, and Token was napping peacefully on his beanbag. 

Craig groaned and moved the legrest of the recliner back down. “The rest of them are fine, but I should put Timmy to bed before he falls. Stan, help me.” 

* * *

**_Rewind - when they started their last movie for the night._ **

“Ugh,” Kyle groaned, rubbing at his face before pulling at the bottoms of his eyes. “It’s getting really hard to stay awake.” 

“Yeah,” Stan agreed, yawning. He let his head fall back on the couch then, groaning quietly. “We  _ could _ just sneak off to bed.” 

“Nah, dude,” Kyle shook his head. “They’ll draw dicks on our faces for sure.” 

“I hate that you’re right about that.” Stan sighed, forcing himself to lift his head and watch the movie. He didn’t even know what was going on. He was more distracted by this sudden  _ need _ to talk to Kyle about… well,  _ them _ . It was like his brain just decided to say  _ “Hey, you should tell your best friend that you probably, definitely like him or whatever.” _ And now his heart was speeding up as if he was actually going to, and now his mouth was opening and starting with, “Hey… Kyle?” 

“Yeah, Stan?” He turned to look at him, his eyelids drooping. 

Stan smiled a little bit. Kyle was always super cute when he was sleepy. Damn it, this was not helping. “I, um… I feel like I should…” He swallowed, starting over. “Remember earlier, when you asked when I figured out I wasn’t straight?” 

Kyle felt much more awake now. “Yeah?” 

“Well,” Stan’s mouth was dry, his heart one word away from stopping completely. But he still wanted to say it. “I figured it out in… in sixth grade. During…” 

“During?” Kyle prompted, placing his hand over Stan’s for encouragement. 

Unfortunately, that just made him more nervous. He took a breath, whispering, “During one of our sleepovers.” 

Kyle was certain his heart did a loop-de-loop in his chest. Was Stan saying what he thought he was saying? Was this really happening? 

“I, I’m sorry if that makes you feel weird,” Stan mumbled, gently tugging his hand away to hug his legs to his chest instead. He stared down at the ground, fear plain in his eyes. “Maybe I shouldn't have even brought it up, but I… I want you to know that I really like you, Kyle. You really are one of the best things in my life, so I don’t really care if we date or just stay best friends forever - it’s, it’s up to you. I’m just… tired of being scared of my feelings.” 

“Stan,” Kyle whispered, frozen to his seat. Half of him wanted to simply push Stan down into the couch and kiss him senseless. The rational part of him urged him to actually talk it out and go slow, since that’s probably what Stan needed more than anything right now. “You know, that’s how I found out I wasn’t straight, either.” 

Stan didn’t process those words right away, and Kyle could see his eyes light up when he finally did. He turned to look at him, mouth slightly agape. “R, really?” 

Kyle nodded, scooting closer. Their knees touched, and neither of them moved away. “Really. Stan, I… I’ve liked you for a long time. It’s just, you were always with Wendy, or -” 

“Please don’t talk about her right now,” Stan interrupted, reaching for Kyle’s hand again. He squeezed it tight, smiling down at their joined hands. “I just want to enjoy this.” 

Kyle wondered if his heart really was as loud as a war drum, or if he was just really tired. He squeezed Stan’s hand back, swallowing down some of his nerves. “So… what should we do now?” 

Stan flinched, ducking his head down. “I… I want to try this,” he whispered, brushing his thumb along the back of Kyle’s hand. “But… can we keep it a secret for now? I don’t really want the whole school asking me all these questions.” 

Kyle clenched his teeth, glancing away. This was something else he’d been dreading - having to keep a relationship secret. He wished he could say he’s secure enough to be a secret boyfriend, but a little part of him would always wonder if Stan didn’t want to tell anyone about them because he wasn’t serious. “Stan, I don’t want to force you to come out until you’re ready, but… I’m not sure how I’ll feel about keeping a relationship a secret.” 

“Not, not a complete secret,” Stan tried to backpeddle, his voice rising slightly in pitch. “Like, I don’t care if these guys know,” he gestured around the room. “And I should probably tell Wendy, but… I don’t… want my family -“ 

“Oh,” Kyle interrupted, reaching up to wipe at Stan’s eyes. “No, no, that makes sense.”

Stan sniffled, closing his eyes. “Ugh… I’m sorry -“ 

“No, it’s fine -“ 

“I’m such a mess.” 

“It’s fine!” 

“It’s not fine for you.” Stan wiped at his eyes. “You’re right, I…” he trailed off, a new thought entering his head. He dropped his hand and stared into Kyle’s eyes. “Do your parents know about you?” 

“Uh.” Kyle’s eyes shifted away, a sheepish smile stretching across his face. “My mom… found a magazine.” 

Stan snorted and covered his mouth, trying not to laugh. 

“Oh, shut up!” 

“Sorry, just…” he grinned, teasing, “a magazine? Really? That’s so old school.” 

“It was one of Kenny’s, okay!?” Kyle groaned and covered his face. “What, like you’ve never… you know!” 

“Yeah, with the  _ internet, _ ” Stan snickered, pushing at Kyle’s shoulder. “You know, in an incognito browser?” 

“I didn’t want to risk getting a virus!” 

“Just don’t download anything and you’re fine.” 

“Gee, thanks for the tip  _ now _ .” 

Stan went back to laughing quietly, hunching over and resting his head on Kyle’s shoulder as he tried to breathe. “Okay okay, I’ll stop teasing.” 

Kyle huffed, digging his fingers into the couch cushions since he couldn’t cross his arms with Stan so close. He waited a few moments before muttering, “I… I want to try, too, then. We’ll just tell our friends, and my mom.” 

Stan’s whole body went rigid. He looked up at Kyle in another panic. “Your mom will  _ definitely _ tell my mom, and as much as I love her she’ll probably let it slip to my fucking dad, and -” 

“Stan,” Kyle cupped his cheek, urging him to take a breath. “My mom won’t tell anyone, especially if I stress how important it is to you. She’s gotten calmer - something about aging I guess.” 

“I don’t know,” Stan mumbled, looking down at the floor. “What… what does your dad even think?” 

“He doesn’t know.” 

“Seriously??” Stan’s eyes widened. “Your mom hasn’t told him?” 

Kyle opened his mouth, closed it, and started again. “Well… if she did, he hasn’t asked me about it.” 

“This is unbelievable.” Stan pushed his hairline back, staring into the space between them. “Are you sure it’s your mom and not an alien?” 

Kyle rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. “Yes, I’m sure.” 

“What evidence do you have?” 

“Dude, shut up.” Kyle laughed and gently elbowed him, relaxing back against the couch. “Um,” he swallowed nervously, mumbling, “Can I ask about you and Butters?” 

“Why?” Stan looked away, his hands clenching around his pantlegs. “It didn’t… we were just - testing something, I guess? It was one kiss.” 

“I figured that.” Kyle brought one of his legs up, crossing it in front of him. “But like… when?” 

“Oh.” Stan swallowed, rubbing his hands back and forth against his knees. “Uh… last year. Like, right before he started dating Suzette.” 

“No kidding?” Kyle turned to him with round eyes. “That’s, like… when I kissed Kenny. Also a test, by the way.” 

“Thank God.” Stan let his head fall back against the couch, closing his eyes. He was pretty much done for the night, yet he was muttering jealous words before he could stop himself: “Was he a good kisser?” 

Kyle raised a brow at him, crossing his arms. “Was Butters?” 

Stan winced and turned his head away. “Touche. Sorry.” 

Kyle rolled his eyes. Maybe it was the fact that he needed to go to sleep, but he found himself throwing Stan a bone. “I pretended Kenny was you, so I don’t even know for sure.” 

“What?” Stan looked over at him in awe. “That’s… that’s what I did with Butters!” 

“Are you for real??” Kyle felt his heart skip a beat. He covered his face, groaning, “God, could we be any lamer?” 

Stan grinned, his heart turning warmer at the sight of Kyle’s ears turning pink. Feeling brave, he scooted closer and laid his head on Kyle’s shoulder. “Well… let’s not be lame anymore.” He reached up, gently tugging Kyle’s hand down from his face and squeezing it, intertwining their fingers. 

Kyle let out a noise somewhere between a squeak and a nervous chuckle, feeling mortified right after. “Oh, y-yeah??” 

“Yeah.” Stan closed his eyes again, sighing softly. The sounds of the movie took center stage in his ears for awhile, accompanied by his strong, loud heartbeat. If his eyes didn’t hurt from exhaustion, he would have sworn this was a dream. 

“Stan?” Kyle whispered. “One more thing.” 

“Hm?” Stan hummed, not moving an inch. 

“Just… about you, er, your gender?” Stan tensed up, and not even Kyle squeezing his hand gently could calm him. “No matter what, I’ll like you. Okay?” 

“Th…” Stan still felt tense. He swallowed a lump in his throat. “I appreciate that.” And he really did - it wasn’t Kyle’s fault that this topic made him feel sick. He’d worried so much about his crush on Kyle that his gender issues took a backseat. Which meant he’d probably have to deal with those issues next.  _ Great _ . 

His eyes snapped open when he felt a kiss pressed to the top of his head. He moved slightly, looking up at Kyle, who just gave him a sheepish smile. “You don’t have to figure anything out right now - I just wanted to let you know it… doesn’t bother me?” 

“I…” Stan swallowed, shyness flipping his stomach over and making him lay his head back down against Kyle. He was right. He didn’t have to think or worry about anything right now. He should just focus on how warm Kyle’s hand was, and how he was finally as close with his best friend as he wanted. That’s all that mattered right now; he could figure out the rest later. 

“Thanks, Kyle.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading!! I hope you've enjoyed <3   
> Now, if you guys have any questions or drabble requests related to this story, please feel free to ask me them at my writing tumblr: annzybwrites.tumblr.com. I want to answer questions and write little drabbles to get in the habit of writing more, so I'd appreciate it <3   
> I hope you all have a great 2020! :D


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